The trial against former national goalkeeper Jens Lehmann over a bizarre incident with a chainsaw on Lake Starnberg is entering the next round. The appeal process in the case will begin at the Munich II Regional Court at the end of September, as the court announced on Thursday. Previously it had Picture-newspaper reported. The trial is scheduled to begin on September 27th and will be held for four days, a court spokeswoman said. The verdict could come on October 11th.
Lehmann is accused, among other things, of using a chainsaw to saw through a roof beam in his neighbor’s garage. On December 22nd last year, he was sentenced by the Starnberg district court to a fine of 210 daily rates of 2,000 euros each for damage to property, insulting police officers and attempted fraud – a total of 420,000 euros.
Lehmann had presented himself “consistently as a victim of the justice system,” said judge Tanja Walter in her verdict. The 54-year-old is “not a victim, he is a perpetrator” and presented “outrageous stories” in his defense in court. However, she decided not to impose a prison sentence and only imposed a fine.
The public prosecutor’s office, however, had demanded a suspended prison sentence of ten months – and a fine of 216,000 euros. “With a chainsaw in their hands, heroes become legends,” said public prosecutor Stefan Kreutzer in the first trial – or they end up in court.
The defense of the 2006 World Cup goalkeeper demanded an acquittal on charges of criminal damage and attempted fraud and demanded a fine of 50 daily rates of less than 500 euros each for insulting police officers. Both the public prosecutor’s office and Lehmann had appealed against the verdict, which is why it did not become legally binding.