Where the accused normally sits, the chair in the hearing room of the Ebersberg District Court remained empty this Tuesday morning. The man who was supposed to be sitting here is currently in rehab and has therefore not been able to appear at his own trial. The drug therapy is the direct consequence of why the 25-year-old from the Munich area had to answer in court at all: because he wanted to avoid a traffic check, the former soldier engaged in a wild chase with the police in November last year, which finally ended in the central barrier of the A 99.
The starting point of the cinematic agitation was a parking lot near Grünwald, where a police patrol wanted to check the 25-year-old. But he had previously consumed some drugs and was therefore no longer fit to drive. In his indictment, the public prosecutor even spoke of “considerable intoxication”. This was probably also the reason why the young man didn’t stop, but pushed on the gas, shot through a red light and tried to escape from the officers. In the vicinity of Unterhaching, he repeatedly got into the oncoming lane. It is only thanks to coincidence that there was no accident, as the prosecutor said.
With their guns drawn, the officials get the 25-year-old out of his broken car
In addition, the man was traveling at a completely excessive speed and raced through a 30 km/h zone at 160 km/h. On the country road, the speedometer needle of the following police car showed at times more than 200 kilometers per hour. Finally, the accused tried to get onto the Autobahn via Oberhaching and escape the officers at more than 250 kilometers per hour. This went well for a few kilometers, but at the Vaterstetten service area the man lost control of his car, slid a few hundred meters along the central barrier and was arrested by the officers with a drawn gun.
In the meantime, the accused, who already had a criminal record, seems to regret his act – at least that is what came out of a written statement that his defense attorney read out in court. At the age of 18 he came into contact with drugs for the first time, after which his consumption gradually increased. “The cannabis made me much calmer and I was able to work better,” wrote the 25-year-old, although the side effects were anxiety and overconfidence. That’s how the chase happened that day after consuming half a cannabis cookie, two joints and two bong pots. “I knew that I was no longer fit to drive,” admitted the defendant.
Because of the act, the former soldier has been suspended from duty
His drug trip didn’t just have legal consequences for him. The Bundeswehr initiated disciplinary proceedings against the professional soldier and dismissed him from service. Since then, the 25-year-old has been looking for a job and has a mountain of debt of more than 90,000 euros. A few weeks ago, the defendant voluntarily entered therapy. “He’s trying to get his life back under control,” said his lawyer, who therefore demanded a reduction in the amount originally set out in the penalty order. However, judge Vera Hörauf did not agree to this, leaving the fine at 2250 euros. “The traffic violations are pretty blatant,” she said. The man could be happy to only get a fine. The 25-year-old, on the other hand, has to do without his driver’s license for at least another four months.