A Forde man who bashed his elderly neighbour after tensions in their street turned violent has shown no remorse for his actions, a court has heard.
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The victim suffered facial, mouth, and dental injuries requiring hospital treatment after an attack in October last year.
The victim's wife also required treatment after injuring her back trying to keep Laurence James Rousell off her husband.
Rousell, 43, appeared for sentence in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday on a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Rousell was found guilty at trial earlier this year to the offence on October 18.
Court documents said there had been an entrenched animosity between Rousell's family and the victim, which included the offender's partner taking out a protection order against the elderly man.
The pair traded insults before the offender walked 30 metres across the road to confront the man, who had been standing with two of his grandchildren.
Rousell then forced the man to the ground, straddled him, and punched him in the face a number of times.
The attack only stopped when neighbours intervened.
Rousell was arrested by police soon after and later claimed he had blacked out and could not remember the attack.
At sentence, Rousell's Legal Aid ACT lawyer said his client had previously been a law abiding citizen, working two jobs to support his family, and had overreacted in the face of the ongoing hostility.
The defence lawyer said the offender had spent six days in custody upon his arrest and his bail conditions had forced him to live away from his family.
The court heard the relationship with the neighbour remained volatile and the family had asked Housing ACT to be transferred to another property.
The lawyer said the family had unsuccessfully sought to engage with conflict resolution with the victim before the incident, but the elderly man did not participate.
The court heard he had been rated as a low risk of reoffending and he had no drug or alcohol issues.
Prosecutor Phoebe Burgoyne-Scutts said the offence had occurred at the victim's home, a place where he had the right to feel safe.
Ms Burgoyne-Scutts also argued it had been concerning that the offender felt hard done by the conviction, and had shown no remorse, contrition, or insight into his criminal behaviour.
The prosecutor told the court a jail term was the only appropriate sentence for the level of offending.
Special Magistrate Ken Cush sentenced Rousell to nine months jail, to be suspended upon entering an 18-month good behaviour order.
Mr Cush told the offender that he needed to learn to deal with neighbourhood disputes peacefully and warned he risked jail if he breached his good behaviour order.
"It's gone, it needs to stop," Mr Cush said.
