A Newcastle man who assaulted his twin brother with a guitar, fracturing his skull, has a history of violent crime, a court has heard.
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Luke Williams, 31, attacked his brother with an electric guitar after an argument in March.
The brothers and the defendant's partner had driven from Newcastle to the northside suburb of Hackett on March 7 when an argument broke out and Williams told the man to get out the vehicle.
The man got out and began to abuse the woman.
Williams then chased his brother, who fell over, and hit him in the head with the musical instrument.
The ACT Supreme Court on Thursday heard the man suffered a depressed skull fracture, bleeding on the brain, and a fractured right eye socket and nasal cavity in the attack.
The injuries required surgery and the victim spent a number of weeks in hospital.
He was discharged into rehabilitation in April.
The court heard the defendant rendered first aid and called paramedics after the attack.
Williams initially told police his brother had injured himself in the fall.
He was arrested and charged with intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm and possessing an offensive weapon with intent.
But he pleaded guilty in June to a reduced charge of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Williams appeared before Justice Hilary Penfold on Thursday for sentence hearing.
The defence said argued Williams wished to apologise to his brother but his bail conditions had prohibited making contact.
The defence also argued their client had shown remorse and completed a number of courses – including drug and alcohol rehabilitation – while in custody.
But prosecutor Phoebe Burgoyne-Scutts said Williams's participation in rehabilitation courses in the past had not stopped his offending.
"He's been given those opportunities before and he hasn't taken them," she said.
"It's not an aberration … it's been a pattern of behaviour since 2007."
Ms Burgoyne-Scutts outlined Williams's criminal history in both Victoria and NSW, which included a number of convictions for violence.
The prosecutor also said the offence had been aggravated by the use of the weapon and the fact Williams had chased his brother in order to strike the victim.
The prosecution rated the objective seriousness of the offence as an upper to mid-range.
The matter will return to court next week.
