3 Found Guilty In Drugging Deaths Of LGBTQ Nightclub Patrons

Three men accused of drugging and robbing men at Manhattan gay bars and nightclubs have been found guilty on murder, robbery and conspiracy charges.

Three men were found guilty Monday of murder, robbery and conspiracy in connection with a drugging and robbery scheme that terrorized New York City gay bars and led to the deaths of two victims. https://t.co/Dm6ZytyosY

— NBC Out (@NBCOUT) February 10, 2025

From NBC New York:

Jayqwan Hamilton, Robert Demaio and Jacob Barroso were found guilty on all charges following a three-week trial in downtown Manhattan. Prosecutors had accused the three men of working together to prey on, drug and rob five men between March 2021 and June 2022.

Two men — 25-year-old Julio Ramirez and 33-year-old John Umberger — died as part of the long-running robbery scheme. The trio had been accused of preying on people out enjoying Manhattan’s night life. The crimes didn’t come into broad public view until May 2022.

The defendants allegedly targeted five different men, giving the victims drugs — including fentanyl and cocaine — after lurking outside of bars and clubs.

Once the victims were disoriented, the defendants stole their phones and then drained their accounts, going on shopping sprees, prosecutors said.

Ramirez was left to die in the back of a taxi cab, while Umberger was found dead in an apartment. Hamilton, Demaio, and Barroso now face prison sentences of 25 years to life. Two other defendants in the case, Shane Hoskins and Andre Butts, had already pleaded guilty in exchange for prison sentences of eight years. Police believe that there are most likely other victims who never came forward out of embarrassment or fear of being outed. From the New York Times:

More than a dozen men interviewed by The New York Times described being drugged at gay bars and then robbed and left unconscious. The jury that convicted Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Barroso and Mr. DeMaio heard from several men who survived similar encounters.

One witness described waking up bruised and alone in a hotel room with his credit card and phones missing. Prosecutors later showed him images of two men wheeling his limp body into the hotel’s lobby on a luggage cart earlier that morning.