Man prefers jail to being at home with grandpa

Man prefers jail to being at home with grandpa

Mon Jul 3, 11:25 AM ET

ROME (Reuters) - An Italian man escaped from house arrest and begged police to put him in jail because he could not bear living with his grandfather, his lawyer said Monday.

The 30-year old, who could only be identified by his initials A.M., had been placed under house arrest for six months in the Sardinian town of Sassari after a scuffle with a policeman.

But he escaped, and Sunday showed up at a police station in the northern city of Genoa, asking them to arrest him and put him in a cell.

"He said he could not face staying with his grandpa anymore," defense lawyer Pietro Bogliolo told Reuters by phone.

The lawyer said he did not know what the problem between the two was. "It's probably irreconcilable differences," he said.

A Genoa court however ruled Monday that A.M. should return to his grandfather's house and spend an additional two months and 20 days there because of his escape.

Saturday, a Sicilian man also asked police to put him in prison rather than have him confined to his house, saying he did not have enough money to buy himself food. He later returned to house arrest after police gave him food supplies for a few days.