After the collapse killed 236 people, an employee came forward with evidence the owners had been warned the roof posed a danger.
The owner of Jet Set, a popular nightclub in the Dominican Republic where 236 people died after the roof collapsed two months ago, was arrested on Thursday and charged with involuntary homicide, prosecutors announced.
Jet Set’s roof collapsed in the early hours of April 8 during a live concert, setting off a lengthy search-and-rescue operation and causing a national reckoning over the lack of building inspections nationwide.
The arrest occurred after a club employee came forward to the authorities with evidence that showed he had warned the club’s owners that they should cancel the concert because the roof was in such poor condition that it posed a danger.
The owner, Antonio Espaillat, a wealthy businessman whose family also owns a chain of radio stations, appeared before the attorney general’s office in the capital, Santo Domingo, on Thursday afternoon for questioning. He was detained afterward, his lawyer, Jorge Luis Polanco, said.
Mr. Espaillat’s sister, Maribel Espaillat, who helped manage the club, was also charged.
The attorney general’s office, which announced the arrests Thursday evening, said both siblings had been charged with involuntary homicide.
They “demonstrated immense irresponsibility and negligence by failing to do what was necessary to ensure that the Jet Set Club’s roof was adequately and expertly repaired,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement. The office also said the siblings had tried to “manipulate or intimidate” employees who would be potential witnesses, without offering further details.
