Antonio Espaillat was transferred last night to the jail cell at the Palace of Justice in Ciudad Nueva.
SANTO DOMINGO. - After arresting Jet Set owner Antonio Espaillat and his sister Maribel Espaillat on Thursday afternoon, the public prosecutor's office reported that both are being investigated for involuntary manslaughter due to the negligence they displayed in the maintenance of the nightclub's roof, which ultimately collapsed, causing 236 deaths and more than 180 injuries.
The businessman was transferred on Thursday night to the holding cell at the Palace of Justice in Ciudad Nueva, under investigation for the tragedy that, more than two months later, continues to hold the interest of a country that still mourns the unfortunate event.
The Public Prosecutor's Office stated in a press release that the Espaillat family is being investigated for the crime of involuntary manslaughter.
The prosecution argues that both defendants showed "immense irresponsibility and negligence" by failing to take physical action to prevent the roof of the entertainment center from collapsing, as it ultimately did, causing 236 deaths and more than 180 injuries.
The Espaillat brothers were arrested after being questioned by the head of the Public Prosecutor's Office's Directorate General of Prosecution, Deputy Attorney General Wilson Camacho, who summoned them to his office. The suspects will be brought before the judge of the Permanent Attention Court of the National District for a hearing on pretrial detention measures.
The arrest warrant obtained by Camacho from Fátima Scarlette Veloz Suárez, presiding judge of the Tenth Court of Instruction of the National District, explains that both suspects committed involuntary homicide, in accordance with Article 319 of the Dominican Penal Code.
The document explains that the two “showed immense irresponsibility and negligence, by not doing what was necessary to ensure that the roof of the Jet Set Club was properly and expertly repaired in order to prevent a tragedy that would claim the lives of the public and its employees who trusted in the supposed safety of the place, as ultimately happened.”.
The document also refers to actions taken by the defendants to try to intimidate or manipulate employees of the company Inversiones E y L, SRL, which managed the Jet Set Club nightclub, and who may serve as witnesses in this process.
Photo: CDN.
