Sean Michael Talbott, 42, was on parole when he burgled a Belconnen home about 6.20am on April 26 this year.

The two residents were in bed when they heard noise from a nearby second-storey bedroom. The man investigated and saw Talbott crouched on the bedroom floor. The man told his partner and then went downstairs to investigate further, finding the front door open and the screen damaged.

Talbott then came to the top of the stairs and charged the occupant when he discovered his escape had been blocked.

The defendant grabbed the man by the throat and shoved him backwards before fleeing through the front door with $4900 worth of electronics. But Talbott dropped a bag in the process after the man struck him on the back with a wooden bo staff.

Talbott made admissions to police when he was arrested the following month and appeared for sentence in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday having pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and theft. Talbott was on parole for similar matters.

The court heard Talbott was under the influence of ice and had committed the burglary in order to buy more drugs.

He thought the home was unoccupied after seeing a car leave the property earlier that morning.

But Chief Justice Helen Murrell said it was reasonable to assume the townhouse would be occupied at that time of day. However, the judge accepted Talbott did not want to confront the occupants.

She sentenced the offender to three years and nine months' jail, backdated for time spent in custody, with a non-parole period of two years.