Court of Appeal revokes no-grounds order and orders opening of trial against Jean André Pumarol

Santo Domingo.– The Second Chamber of the Criminal Court of Appeals of the National District revoked this Thursday the no-grounds order that favored Jean André Pumarol Fernández and ordered the opening of a trial against him for the case that occurred in the Naco district, where Yolanda Andújar Abugaber died and several people were injured.

With the decision, the court upheld the appeals filed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and by the victims and plaintiffs, setting aside the resolution issued on March 17, 2026, by the Seventh Instruction Court of the National District, which had acquitted the defendant.

The judges determined that the accusation presented by the Public Prosecutor’s Office contains sufficient grounds to justify the probability of a conviction, and therefore ordered the case to be sent to a trial court.

The Court admitted the indictment filed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, to which the plaintiffs and civil parties adhered, and ordered that Pumarol be tried for alleged violations of articles 295 and 304 of the Dominican Penal Code, as well as provisions of Law 631-16 on the Control and Regulation of Weapons, Ammunition and Related Materials, and Law 248-12 on Animal Protection and Responsible Ownership.

Likewise, the court admitted the complaint with constitution as a civil party filed by the relatives of the deceased victim, Yolanda Andújar Abugaber, and by the survivor María Teresa Fabián de Heredia, represented by lawyers Miguel Valerio, Gypsy Roa Díaz, Daniel Santillán, and Jennifer Doñé Miliano.

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The decision also validates the evidence presented by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the plaintiff, in addition to admitting the evidence offered by the defendant’s counsel to be debated during the trial.

The case caused great commotion in the country after, according to the accusation, Jean André Pumarol Fernández attacked several people with a bladed weapon in a building in the Naco district, causing the death of Yolanda Andújar Abugaber, injuries to several citizens, and the death of a pet.

With this decision, the process now enters the substantive trial phase, where a court will determine the criminal liability of the defendant based on the evidence presented by the parties.