SANTO DOMINGO.- The first day of the arrest of the owners of the Jet Set nightclub, where on April 8 of this year the roof collapsed while merengue singer Rubby Pérez (who died in the incident) was entertaining at a party, leaving 236 people dead, was spent lobbying for the release of the detainees, hospitalization and new interrogations.
While the Public Ministry will file this Saturday, June 14, 2025, the request for coercive measures against the siblings Antonio and Maribel Espaillat , who were placed under arrest last Thursday, after being questioned by the Directorate of Prosecution of the Attorney General's Office and who are accused of "involuntary homicide".
The Public Prosecutor's Office continued its investigation , gathering evidence to support its request for pretrial detention, a decision expected within 48 hours. Meanwhile, the Espaillat siblings' lawyers were working to secure their release. Also, early Friday morning, Maribel Espaillat, arrested along with her brother Antonio Espaillat in connection with the building collapse that, in addition to the more than 230 deaths, injured over 180 people, was hospitalized.
The Public Prosecutor's Office stated in a press release that the Espaillats are being investigated for the crime of involuntary manslaughter , explaining that both "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 members of the public and employees who trusted in the supposed safety of the place, as ultimately happened."
The prosecution 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.
Freedom
According to Antonio Espaillat's lawyer, Miguel Valerio, the "most appropriate" measure for his client is release "because there was no intent in what happened, there wasn't." "It's being treated as a case of organized crime, and there was no intent," he insisted yesterday in statements to the press.
Former employee questioned
Gregory Adames, a former employee of Jet Set, went to the Attorney General's Office accompanied by his lawyer, after being summoned by the director of the Prosecution Directorate of the Public Ministry , Wilson Camacho.
This is the second time he has come to the place to be questioned by the judicial authorities after having stated that he had warned the owners about the deteriorating conditions in which the nightclub was found.
Hospitalized
Maribel Espaillat, sister of businessman Antonio Espaillat, remained hospitalized at the Abel González clinic, according to media reports, after being imprisoned along with her brother in a cell at the Palace of Justice in Ciudad Nueva.
The Public Prosecutor's Office has a period of 48 hours to file the request for coercive measures against both of them, as established by law.
