Italian house arrest approved for Bay Area man convicted in Rome officer death
ROME, Italy (KGO) -- An Italian court has approved house arrest for a Marin County man convicted in the killing of an Italian police officer.
The home detention was approved for 23-year-old Gabriel Natale-Hjorth. The court had reduced his crime to what amounts to negligence in the death of a police officer in Rome in July 2019. Then, his attorneys argued that he should be allowed to serve the rest of his 11-year sentence at his grandmother's home near Rome. On Monday, a judge agreed.
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Natale and friend, 24-year-old Finnegan Elder of San Francisco, were on vacation when they were confronted by plain-clothes police after a failed drug transaction. Natale was able to run away from one officer, while another pinned Elder to the ground. Elder pulled out a knife and stabbed the officer until he broke free.
Both men from the Bay Area initially received life sentences from the Italian courts. Elder's sentence got reduced earlier this month to 15 years based on the fact that the Italian officers failed to properly identify themselves. From the beginning, Elder told authorities that he thought the officers were thugs connected to the drug dealer.
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Natale's family texted the ABC7 News I-Team: "We are delighted with the outcome and look forward to welcoming Gabriel back to his family home soon."
Elder's family said they are "so relieved for this chapter for Gabe and his family to be over and a new phase to begin."
