The trial in a Munich regional court over a bizarre incident ended with former Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehman accepting his conviction on two counts of damage to property and attempted fraud in return for a reduced fine. Originally fined €420,000 ($470,000) Lehmann saw this reduced to €135,000 on appeal.
Prosecutors had accused Lehmann of sawing off a roof beam in his neighbor’s garage with a chainsaw in July 2022 and said it was part of a long-standing dispute because the building blocked the previously unobstructed view from Lehmann’s property of Lake Starnberg southwest of Munich.
Part of the evidence submitted was video from a surveillance camera that showed the now-54-year-old Lehmann with holding a running chainsaw. The camera had continued to work despite the fact that the power cable had been cut, as it worked on a battery.
The trial was also related to two incidents in a parking garage at Munich Airport. Lehmann was accused of driving his car out of the parking garage bumper-to-bumper to avoid having to pay the parking fee. Charges related to insulting police officers were dropped.
Driver’s license confiscated
Lehmann was back in the headlines earlier this week. After visiting Munich’s Oktoberfest, he was stopped by police after they observed him driving in a “conspicuous manner”. Police confiscated his driver’s license on suspicion of drunk driving, while the investigation continues.
The former shotstopper played 61 matches for Germany between 1998 and 2008. He was the No. 1 goalkeeper at the 2006 World Cup in Germany and the 2008 European Championship in Portugal. He played for several clubs during his career, including Schalke, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and Stuttgart.
Edited by: Kalika Mehta
This report was written with material from the AFP and dpa news agencies.
