House arrest, but only with the use of an electronic bracelet. This is the precautionary custody measure ordered, after questioning in San Vittore, by Milan investigating judge Giulia Masci for Genti Berisha, the 26-year-old arrested on June 23 for the death of Francesco Imprezzabile, the 39-year-old local police officer who fell from his motorcycle while chasing him at 180 kilometers per hour after the young man in a rented SUV failed to stop at a checkpoint.
The judge's decision came after prosecutor Francesca Crupi, at the hearing where Berisha reiterated the version he gave three days earlier, admitting his guilt, decided to amend the original request for detention to house arrest, but with the use of a monitoring device. The 26-year-old's mother and sister traveled from Albania specifically to stay with the young man.
The investigating judge (unable to go beyond the prosecutor's request) consequently ordered the measure, predictably reclassifying, among other things, the charge of vehicular homicide to death resulting from another crime, and maintaining the other charge of dangerous fleeing. Now, explained Gabriele Maria Vitiello, the lawyer representing the officer's family, "we believe it is our duty to maintain the utmost respect for the grief of Francesco Imprezzabile's family, who are dealing with an irreparable loss. This is not the time for controversy or emotional evaluations of judicial decisions, which must always be respected."
At the same time, the lawyer adds, "we trust that the procedural investigation will allow us to fully reconstruct the facts, shed full light on responsibilities, and ensure that the person responsible faces the consequences provided by law. This is what the family expects and what we will work to achieve with determination."
As soon as the bracelet is recovered, the suspect will be released. Given the seriousness of the offense and the precautionary requirements, the judge ruled that release is contingent on the availability of the device. She highlighted the risks of escape, tampering with evidence, and repeat offenses. Meanwhile, under questioning and represented by lawyer Fabrizio Cardinali, Berisha assumed "full responsibility for having made this instinctive, reckless act, misjudging the situation like an immature individual." He expressed "regret" and apologized again. He realized that "if he had been thinking, he would not have left and failed to notice that the officer had fallen." He is ready to make "a gesture of reparation," to compensate for the damage.
However, doubts remain about his version in the local police investigation, in which three people are under investigation for aiding and abetting. The doubts aren't about the lack of contact between the two vehicles, as this has now been confirmed by the investigations. But more about the detail that he didn't see, as he claims, Imprezzabile slide away on a curve. And he also continued to maintain that he fled because he didn't want trouble for the few grams of drugs he had on him.
He misjudged, the lawyer added, that with "three grams of marijuana, nothing would have happened." The 26-year-old then reported that in the car that evening "there were a friend and other friends of this friend," but again declined to name names because, he argued, "I've already put them in danger with this act, and I don't want them to be implicated, because I'm the one who did it all." When asked if the 26-year-old had contacts with Albanian clans, the lawyer replied that "he is required to sign a lawsuit for having spoken on the phone, on a couple of occasions, with a person believed to be part of an organization. These events date back to 2020." The trial is ongoing in Brescia, and the prosecutor's office has requested a nine-year prison sentence for him.
(Unioneonline)
