Seven months after the tragic collapse of the roof of the Jet Set Nightclub, that caused the death of at least 236 persons attending a Rubby Perez concert on 8 April 2025, the prosecutors from the Justice Department have sent the case to court.
The action opens the legal procedures for the charges against the owners of the club, Antonio and Maribel Espaillat. They are charged with involuntary homicide and involuntary injuries. The maximum jail sentence for the charge is two years in jail, according to Dominican law.
According to the investigation carried out by the prosecutors, the case is built on hundreds of pieces of evidence that point to the criminal responsibility of the defendants.
The Attorney General Office press release says that the accused worsened their liability by overloading the building’s roof structure with large air-conditioning units and water tanks, without conducting the necessary technical studies to ensure the structure could bear the added weight. The Jet Set Club management also ignored internal warnings about the roof’s deterioration, prioritizing cost savings despite clear safety risks.
The findings, summarized in the judicial report, draw on analyses of the building’s structure conducted by Leonardo de Jesús Reyes Madera (seismic-resistance engineer), Eduardo A. Fierro (president of BFP Engineers), and Máximo José Corominas Quezada (forensic engineer), all appointed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office as part of the investigation.
Read more in Spanish:
Attorney General Office
El Caribe
Listin Diario
11 November 2025