Israeli executive smashed up Four Seasons hotel suite in £100,000 Park Lane rampage
Israeli executive who smashed up Four Seasons hotel suite in £100,000 Park Lane rampage that ended when police found him topless and covered in shaving cream is found not guilty due to insanity
Ofer Tsofan, 52, caused over £100,000 of damage to a Park Lane hotel roomHe denies arson, criminal damage and two assaults due to reason of insanityCourt heard it was not disputed Tsofan committed the acts that he is accused ofHe was found not guilty due to insanity and was released from prison on bail
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An Israeli executive caused over £100,000 of damage to a hotel room in a ‘90-minute siege’ at one of London’s top hotels during an ‘acute manic episode’.
Ofer Tsofan, 52, torched cushions and towels in suite 212 at the Four Seasons Hotel on Park Lane on July 24 last year, jurors at Southwark Crown Court heard.
The jury found Tsofan not guilty by reason of insanity. The Israeli citizen was released on bail by a judge pending a further hearing tomorrow.
The court heard Mr Tsofan was seen by security staff around midday demanding to speak to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and have his family flown to the UK from Israel by private jet, as well as telling staff to ‘f*** off’.
Hotel staff called a friend of Mr Tsofan to help do a welfare check on him, but the Israeli businessman hurled abuse at his friend for two hours until police were called, jurors heard.
Police arrived around 9.45pm and tried to enter the hotel room as Mr Tsofan shouted abuse and demanding to see his lawyer.
Mr Tsofan then let the officers into the suite, but barricaded himself in a room while setting fires and throwing various objects at police, including glass bottles and a burning book.
Ofer Tsofan, 52, caused over £100,000 of damage to a Park Lane hotel room in July last year
He torched cushions and towels in suite 212 at the Four Seasons Hotel on Park Lane on July 24
The executive was only wearing a pair of black trousers and had covered parts of his body in shaving cream.
When Mr Tsofan was eventually arrested and taken to hospital, the full extent of the damage was revealed.
Mr Tsofan destroyed three antique Chinese chests, two televisions, a music system, a wooden furniture set, and multiple glass tabletops, the court heard.
Smoke from the fires set of the room’s sprinkler system, causing extensive flood damage.
Three antique Chinese chests, two televisions, a music system, a wooden furniture set, and multiple glass tabletops were destroyed in the rampage
Artwork, furniture upholstery, and three wallpaper panels also needed to be replaced because of ketchup stains, jurors heard. The total bill was £108,982.85
One officer was injured after a glass bottle smashed on a door near his face, jurors heard.
Prosecutor Christopher Jenkins said: ‘It is not disputed that Mr Tsofan committed the acts that he is accused of.
‘Mr Tsofan was assisted after these incidents by three expert psychiatrists, in essence all three or less agreed Mr Tsofan could avail himself of the defence of insanity.
‘Mr Tsofan was in the middle of an acute manic episode.
‘There was effectively a 90-minute siege, with Mr Tsofan barricaded in his room and the police trying to calm him down.’
Shaven-headed Tsofan appeared at Southwark Crown Court wearing a blue shirt and green puffer jacket, as a member of his family watched from the public gallery.
The court heard Tsofan purchased 50 Tesla cars as a result of his Bipolar Affective Disorder in 2020, the court heard.
He had flown to London to watch the British Grand Prix days before the hotel rampage last July.
He also told a psychiatrist during his evaluation he wanted to build a city where his family and transgender people could live peacefully, the court heard.
Tsofan denied and was cleared of arson, criminal damage to property and two assaults of emergency workers, namely police officers, due to reason of insanity.
The jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity on all charges.
He has been in custody for some six months waiting for his trial.
The judge Mr Recorder Andrew Wales, QC, released him on bail ahead of sentence tomorrow at Southwark Crown Court.
