A MAN who has been behind bars since smashing property at a Mandalay home with a Samurai Sword on January 9, will now be able to hold his two-month-old son for the first time.

Stephen Neil Crisp was released on parole after pleading guilty to charges of going armed to cause fear and common assault in the Proserpine Magistrate's Court on Monday.

Charges of burglary and assault occasioning bodily harm were formally dismissed.

Police prosecutor Elizabeth Smith said the assault charge related to an incident on November 28 when Crisp was leaning on a utility in the Whitsunday Shopping Centre car park at about 6.50pm.

She said the owner of the utility asked him to move and an altercation ensued. The court was told Crisp punched him in the face, while the owner of the ute struck him with a cement leveller.

It was 9.15pm on January 9 when Crisp went to the Mandalay home where the occupants were sleeping in the main living area.

Ms Smith said he went inside and an incident occurred before he left, smashing property with a Samurai sword.

He was found at his home address a short time later and he has been in custody ever since.

At Crisp's first court appearance on January 12, bail was refused despite the fact it was noted he was expecting a child.

In court on Monday, duty lawyer Lachlan Ygoa-McKeown said Crisp was now looking forward to being released and becoming a father, which was a "significant motivator" in terms of keeping him out of trouble.

He said the 27-year-old had turned to self-medication after losing his own father at the age of 15, which was when his criminal history started.

Mr Ygoa-McKeown submitted this went some way to explaining "how Mr Crisp finds himself in custody today".

In terms of the assault, he said this was "not a coward's punch" but a situation where there was a disagreement between the parties and Crisp was also struck.

"In my respectful submission Mr Crisp has served enough time in custody and Your Honour can release him today," he said.

Magistrate Ron Muirhead said in his view the only appropriate penalty for these offences was a period of imprisonment.

"It's just a matter of how long."

In the end he settled on a total of six months, with a parole release of Monday's date.

Crisp's mother, partner and two-month-old child were in court to hear the sentence handed down.