Upon hearing he may be released from jail in four months, a serial robber asked: "Why am I getting out so early, then?"
Aaron Kenneth Campbell, 37, posed the question while sitting in the Alexander Maconochie Centre when he faced the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday.
Justice Louise Taylor had just sentenced Campbell to a total of more than 10 years' jail time.
This took into account his most recent crimes, as well as separate offences which resulted in a prison sentence dating back to 2018.
This means Campbell will be eligible for parole in August 2024, and the entirety of his sentence runs until 2028.
Campbell had carried out a violent machete attack in a car wash, as well as two home invasions in 2022.
In one invasion, in Kambah, Campbell held a knife to a victim's pinky finger and repeatedly asked "where is the money?" and demanded drugs.
During another robbery, the next night in Holt, Campbell wielded a crowbar as he broke into a home with co-offender Ivan Djerke and accosted two 17-year-old children.
Campbell had threatened to harm a dog if they did not stop yelling, during what one of the 17-year-old's later described as an "utterly terrifying experience".
Earlier in 2022, Campbell left a man's head "gushing blood" after a "frantic" machete attack during a late-night car wash meet-up.
In response to the inmate's query on Thursday, Justice Taylor warned "you will still have a significant period of imprisonment hanging over your head" if granted parole.
Campbell had previously been found guilty of attempted aggravated robbery, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and property damage.
He had pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated robbery.
On Thursday, Justice Taylor stated the robberies required "a level of planning but were not, it must be said, especially sophisticated".
Campbell had been on parole and on bail at the time of the home invasions for similar crimes.
Justice Taylor found Campbell's crime spree was financially motivated to feed his illicit drug addiction.
She said the serial criminal had first been introduced to marijuana at eight-years-old, an age when children should be "blissfully ignorant to the perils of illicit drug use".
By the age of 12 Campbell had moved into heroin, methamphetamine and amphetamines.
In what the judge labelled "particularly significant", Campbell had demonstrated a "genuine commitment to reform" during his most recent stint in jail.
Justice Taylor said she had "cautious optimism" for Campbell, who was "a regular user of a revolving door into the Alexander Maconochie Centre".
