Belligerent man threatened two women because they parked in a parking place

Benjamin James Lake was slapped with a fine stemming from an incident last year in which he pleaded not guilty to one count of common assault and guilty to one count of using abusive language to a police officer.

Lake verbally abused two women (a mother and daughter) when they parked their car in the South Launceston neighbourhood.

Towards the end of the episode, Lake reversed his car back at an angle, sharply aiming at one of the women standing by her car and narrowly missing her.

Both women recounted how Lake was verbally abusive towards them and how they felt threatened and fearful of him.

He swore at the two ladies, calling them "c---ts", "you're a f----ing bitch" and "f----ing idiots" before eventually driving off.

The daughter said that due to her adrenaline spiking, she had gone into "flight or fight" mode.

Nonetheless, she could still take a photo of Lake's number plate and alert the police.

When police approached Lake about the incident, he called a police officer a "f------g c---t" and other profanities.

Magistrate Simon Brown assessed the incident and found both women's testimonies on the witness stand to be "impressive" and "without any reconstruction."

Magistrate Brown said that the case was a matter of "credibility and reliability" and was satisfied the two women had proven their case to him.

Mr Brown said that both women were "unmoved under cross-examination" and "had taken great care in answering questions" and that he didn't accept Lake's account of the matter.

The defence lawyer for Lake, Mark Doyle, told the court that "Lake had a history of poor mental health" and that "he rises to injustices in a belligerent manner", referring to Lake claiming the women were parked in someone's parking space.

Mr Brown took Lake's mental health into account as a mitigating factor when sentencing him; however, he said he didn't agree with all of Lake's doctor's testimony.

The magistrate said the ordinary assault matter was "serious and could have caused bodily harm if the car had connected with one of the women".

Furthermore, before convicting Lake on both counts, Mr Brown said the event had caused "great distress" and "instilled fear" into the two women.

Lake was fined $2,250 and ordered to pay court costs after he found his version of events inaccurate.

Mr Brown said he needed to make the fine match the seriousness of the incident, send a solid message to Lake, and deter others from behaving similarly.