Three men have been convicted of two murders in connection with a series of druggings and robberies targeting men at gay bars in New York City. The victims, Julio Ramirez, 25, and John Umberger, 33, were drugged and killed within months of each other in 2022. Prosecutors revealed that several other victims were also drugged and robbed, though they survived the encounters.
The convicted individuals—Jayqwan Hamilton, 37, Robert DeMaio, 36, and Jacob Barroso, 32—were found guilty on all charges following a trial in New York. Hamilton and DeMaio were convicted of the murders of both Ramirez and Umberger, while DeMaio was specifically convicted of Ramirez’s murder. Additionally, all three men were found guilty of robbery charges related to the victims.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg expressed that the defendants’ actions were driven by greed, causing the deaths of two young men. He acknowledged the ongoing pain suffered by the families of the victims and hoped that the conviction would offer some measure of comfort.
Ramirez was discovered dead in a taxi in April 2022, while Umberger was found deceased in his Manhattan apartment in June 2022. Both victims died from a lethal combination of cocaine, fentanyl, and other drugs. According to prosecutors, the defendants targeted Ramirez, a social worker, outside The Ritz Bar in Hell’s Kitchen. After drugging him with fentanyl, they accessed his bank accounts, withdrawing money to purchase thousands of dollars worth of sneakers and clothes.
The case sheds light on a disturbing pattern of predatory behavior, with the defendants using drugs to incapacitate their victims before stealing from them. The guilty verdicts bring closure to the families of Ramirez and Umberger, though the tragedy continues to highlight the risks faced by individuals in vulnerable situations.
