Jet Set Nightclub Owner Charged With Involuntary Homicide After Deadly Roof Collapse

Authorities in the Dominican Republic arrested and charged Antonio Espaillat, the owner of the long-running Santo Domingo nightclub Jet Set, with involuntary homicide following a catastrophic roof collapse that killed 236 people, The New York Times reports. 

The charges were filed on June 12th, roughly two months after the April 8th tragedy, which occurred during a performance by merengue artist Rubby Pérez. Espaillat's sister, Maribel Espaillat, who co-managed the venue, was also indicted. The Espaillats reportedly co-owned the venue along with their mother.

Local prosecutors allege that Antonio Espaillat ignored urgent warnings from an employee about the venue's structural issues in the hours leading up to the show. The employee had voiced serious concerns about the roof's condition and advised canceling the event altogether, but that request was dismissed, according to NYT.

In a statement from the Dominican Republic's Attorney General's Office, prosecutors alleged that "both defendants displayed immense irresponsibility and negligence by failing to physically intervene to prevent the club's roof from collapsing, as it ultimately did, causing 236 deaths and more than 180 injuries." 

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The office has also reportedly accused the Espaillat family of attempting to influence or intimidate potential witnesses, though no specifics have been disclosed. 

The roof's collapse is now the subject of multiple ongoing lawsuits and a large-scale criminal investigation. Officials say an engineering report on the structural failure has been completed, though its findings have not yet been released publicly at press time.