Owners of Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo face up to 20 years in prison
The proprietors of the Jet Set club, whose roof killed 236 people in April 2025, see their charge reclassified as manslaughter with eventual intent.
More serious charges against Jet Set owners following judicial reclassification
The owners of the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo now face up to 20 years in prison, after judge Franny González reclassified the crime he imputed to them from "involuntary manslaughter" to "manslaughter with eventual intent", diariolasamericas.com reports.
The roof of the club collapsed on 8 April 2025 during a concert by merengue singer Rubby Pérez, resulting in 236 deaths, including the singer himself.
Antonio Espaillat, owner of the establishment, and his sister Maribel, the venue's administrator, had been sent to trial in June under the original charge of involuntary manslaughter, which carried sentences of between two and three years. With the new charge, the maximum sentence rises to two decades in prison.
Both had been arrested in 2025 and released on conditional liberty after paying a bail of approximately 842,000 dollars. Family members and victims denounced at the time alleged privileges granted to the family, which also controls a media conglomerate and a restaurant.
The Public Prosecutor's Office maintains that the Espaillat brothers knew beforehand of the structural deterioration of the building and the risk it represented for those attending the venue. "This is not a simple and unforeseeable accident. It could have been prevented. There was warning and it should not have happened", the fiscal accusation states, cited by the judge in motivating his decision.
The court concluded that the accused possessed documented information, serious warnings and objective signs of the real danger of the structure, which far exceeded the risks inherent in operating a commercial venue open to the public. Nevertheless, they chose to keep the establishment in operation and allow people to enter.
The reclassification means that the judicial process must start again from the beginning before a new court, according to an explanation by judge González.
The change of charge had been requested by the Justicia Jet Set movement, which brings together victims and families of the deceased. "Thank God the charge changed. It means a lot for those affected and families after that horrendous day", declared Jeniré Mena, 40 years old, a member of the movement.
Mena, a Venezuelan survivor who remained trapped in the rubble for five hours and who suffers physical sequelae, also added: "It is good to know that the consequences are not only lived by us. There is a possibility that those responsible will truly also live the consequences."
With information from AFP and Listín Diario.
Source: Google News DO — Crime