Arsenal legend Lehmann found guilty of property damage and attempted fraud after chainsaw attack on neighbour’s garage
FORMER Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has been found guilty of property damage and attempted fraud following a chainsaw attack on a neighbour’s garage.
The German, 54, was fined £112,000 following the verdict at a court in Munich earlier today.
Lehmann had been accused of using a chainsaw to hack through the roof beams on his neighbour’s garage by Lake Starnberg, which is in the Bavaria region of Germany.
The alleged incident was said to have taken place during the summer of 2022.
He was initially found guilty last December, being slapped with a 10-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay more a fine worth more than £350,000.
The former Gunner subsequently launched an appeal, as did Munich prosecutors.
According to local reports in Germany, a deal was reached between prosecutors and Lehmann’s lawyers prior to the trial’s resumption this morning.
Following this morning’s session, Lehmann’s legal representative Florian Ufer gave an update – with his client having also been on trial for alleged unpaid parking fees.
He said: “Mr Lehmann accepts responsibility.
“He has come to an agreement with his neighbour. The parking fees have been paid.”
Lehmann’s initial £350,000 fine was reduced to around £112,000.
He is claimed to have paid his neighbour around £50,000 in order to close the matter.
Following the out-of-court settlement, criminal charges against Lehmann regarding the alleged chainsaw attack were dropped.
A spokesperson for Munich District Court had said: “This is not the same as a confession.
“The guilty verdict from the first instance was accepted and is therefore legally binding.
“Now the question is how much the fine will be.”
Lehmann played 200 times for Arsenal across two spells; between 2003 and 2008, and during a brief return in 2011.
He was a member of the Gunners’ Invincibles side in the 2003-04 season, and won a further FA Cup under Arsene Wenger.
Earlier this week it was revealed that Lehmann’s driver’s license was confiscated last Sunday.
He had been in attendance at Oktoberfest while wearing lederhosen, and was later stopped by cops for alleged drink-driving.
According to German outlet Bild, Lehmann was “staggering and smelled of alcohol”.
Breath tests were abandoned with Lehmann “unable to blow” – with the ex-keeper instead taken to the police station for further testing.
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