“We maintain that this was not the case, that no construction or modification was being carried out inside the property, and we are not involved in any type of criminal liability; everything that happened was an unforeseen event,” declared Luis Feliz yesterday, lawyer for Jesús María Sánchez Lantigua and Jorge Alberto Rosario Marte (owners of the company), who were arrested by the Public Ministry and whose request for coercive measures is scheduled for today, Thursday.
The legal representatives of the furniture store owners rejected the Public Prosecutor's accusation, clarifying that their criminal responsibility in the matter is not compromised.
Feliz, the lawyer for the executives of the company Multi Muebles, described the collapse of the building as "an accidental event" and denied the accusations of the Public Prosecutor's Office that the company's executives were carrying out construction work without the corresponding permits.
He stated that the owners of the Multi Muebles building have been “shoulder to shoulder” with the victims and their families, adding that “they have not been absent and have not left the country.”.
The company R & S Multi Muebles, SRL, through its lawyers, reported that the owners are prepared to face the upcoming actions by the Prosecutor's Office of La Vega.
The furniture store owners were arrested by court order at one of their offices located on Pedro A. Rivera Avenue.
Authorities indicate that the evidence obtained during the investigation reasonably suggests that construction work was being carried out there without the permits of the Dominican College of Engineers and Architects (Codia), nor of the Urban Planning Department of the La Vega City Hall, which are the competent authorities to authorize any type of construction or modification.
The head prosecutor of La Vega, Aura Luz García Martínez, explained that in the next 48 hours they will be brought before the Permanent Attention Services Judicial Office for the crime of involuntary homicide and that they will request preventive detention as a coercive measure.
