An Illawarra driver who brandished a fake gun at a Windang caravan park resident who saw him do a burnout has been sentenced to nine months' jail and labelled an "idiot" in court.
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Magistrate Michael Stoddart said Matthew Michael Inman's behaviour on the evening of March 9 was "disgraceful" and would have no doubt left his victim terrified.
"You've got this imitation pistol, you do this crazy burnout, you might as well be saying 'look at me, I'm an idiot'," Magistrate Stoddart told Inman during a sentencing hearing on Tuesday.
"It was an absolutely appalling situation."
Court documents said the victim and his partner were inside their van when they heard a loud screeching sound and went outside to investigate.
They saw Inman doing a burnout in a green VE Holden Commodore in the carpark of the nearby surf life saving club.
Inman then drove the vehicle towards the man, who asked his partner to take down the car's number plates.
Inman pulled up beside him, pulled out a pistol, cocked it and held it near his chest in a deliberate show of intimidation. He then drove off, pointing the pistol at the victim as he left.
The man reported the incident to police.
Officers found Inman walking along the foreshore of the lake a short time later, gun still in his pants pocket. It was revealed to be an imitation of a Beretta APX self-loading pistol.
Inman's lawyer told the court this week that his client had purchased the toy gun so he could play with his nephews on their farm.
"It only shoots gel pellets - he couldn't have hurt anyone with it," the solicitor said.
With time served, Inman will be released on parole in April next year.