Another chapter has been added to Shawn Surge's long history of harassing, threatening and attacking women.

The 38-year-old Whitehorse man was sentenced to just over three years in prison today, for barricading his ex-girlfriend and her three young children in their own home and terrorizing them with an axe.

In the early-morning hours of March 15, 2010, Surge showed up at his ex-girlfriend's home on Lewes Boulevard and attempted to hang himself from a tree in front of her apartment.

The woman's landlord called 911 and Surge was taken away by the RCMP but not kept in custody.

He returned at about 2:15 the next morning, this time armed with an axe. Before kicking in the woman's back door, Surge tied the front door handle to his vehicle so the family could not get out of the house.

A sharp-eyed neighbour noticed the rope, and knowing Surge had been harassing the woman the night before, realized the family needed help.

He cut the rope, but found the door locked and began shouting to the woman and her children that they could escape through the front door.

Inside, the woman had gotten her children into one of the bedrooms. Surge then blocked them in by pushing a cabinet in front of the door.

The neighbour could hear screaming inside the house as he waited for the police.

The RCMP arrived in a matter of minutes. Surge appeared at the upstairs window, saying he had a gun and that he wanted a negotiator to help him speak to his ex.

Eight minutes later, police broke through the front door, guns drawn, and found Surge inside with an axe in his hand. He dropped it when he saw the police and was arrested without further incident.

He was charged with a host of offences, including break-and-enter and aggravated assault, then added one more when he tried to escape from custody during a trip to Whitehorse General Hospital. He was caught on Long Lake Road within a few minutes of bolting from the back of the jail van.

In the aftermath of the attack, the victim told police Surge had said he wouldn't hurt her or the children and that he only wanted to talk.

For his part, Surge said he had come to get his bike back.

This standoff was not the first for Surge.

While living in Calgary in the late 1990s, he broke into the home of another ex-girlfriend's parent's in an attempt to steal a gun "to convince (the woman) not to have an abortion,” territorial court judge Michael Cozens recounted during today's sentencing hearing.

That incident resulted in a 14-hour standoff with Calgary police and a stay in federal prison.

In 1998 and again in 2001, the man was convicted of spousal assault and in 2007, he was convicted of criminally harassing his most recent victim.

In reviewing Surge's history, and his most recent psychological report, Cozens noted the man is at a very high risk to reoffend and appears to harbour a great deal of hostility toward women.

He consistently minimizes his own behaviour, the judge said, and puts some of the blame on the women he attacks. In this case, for instance, he said he went to the house because his ex-girlfriend wouldn't give him back his customized bicycle.

He also said he went there to kill himself, not harm the woman or her children, but as the judge pointed out, committing suicide in front of the family would cause "significant psychological harm.”

The judge's outlook on Surge's future as a peaceful member of society was grim. He noted that past jail and prison terms have done little to curb Surge's violent and abusive behaviour, nor have they persuaded him to take responsibility for his actions.

He sentenced the man to 46 months in prison, giving his credit for 7 1/2 months already served.

At the beginning of the hearing, Surge argued the whole case should be thrown out because it has taken so long to reach sentencing, claiming he has served more than seven months' "dead time” through no fault of his own.

Cozens dismissed that plea and said Surge could appeal the sentence.