High on crack, Lee Olsen terrorized a Ross Avenue family with a baseball bat, demanding money so he could buy more drugs.

Like most drug-fuelled plans, it didn't end well. Police arrested him just minutes later — at his next-door home.

Olsen pleaded guilty to one count of break, enter, commit assault in connection with the May 28, 2010 incident. Three and a half years later, Olsen said he is a changed man and is now counselling others about the dangers of drug abuse.

"I fought that battle and I'm winning it and I'm never going to go back to that stuff," Olsen told a judge Tuesday.

Olsen, 38, will return to court for sentencing Nov. 22. The Crown is seeking a sentence of five years in prison, while Olsen is arguing he should be sentenced to two years in jail plus probation.

Court heard Olsen, his face concealed by a hoodie, walked into his neighbour's house shortly before 5 p.m., swinging a baseball bat and demanding money. During a scuffle with a 25-year-old female resident and her 44-year-old mother, the women were able to remove Olsen's hoodie and recognized him as their neighbour and soccer coach to the younger woman's daughter.

The younger woman's teenage sister joined the fray and beat Olsen in the head with a lamp, after which he grabbed a purse from the living room and fled.

Olsen has a lengthy criminal record including convictions for domestic assault and a shoplifting conviction just last year.

"When a person is dealing with an addictions issue, it's not an automatic fix," argued defence lawyer Aaron Seib, who characterized Olsen's most recent conviction as a "slip up."

Seib said Olsen turned to drugs to numb the pain of sexual abuse he suffered as a boy.

A five-year prison sentence would be "crushing" and derail Olsen's efforts to rehabilitate himself, Seib said.

dean.pritchard@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @deanatwpgsun