Suspect in Gay Drugging Deaths Had Video of Victim on His Phone
One of the men indicted in the drugging deaths of two gay bar patrons allegedly had video of one of the victims on his phone.
An alleged member of a gang that was robbing various club-goers in Manhattan — resulting in the deaths of at least two gay victims — reportedly had video of one of the victims on his cell phone.
Robert Demaio, 34, surrendered to police on Monday, just days after police had publicly named him and two other members of the robbery crew in connection with the deaths of John Umberger, a 33-year-old political consultant from Washington, D.C., and Julio Ramirez, a 25-year-old social worker from Brooklyn.
Police had previously released the names of Demaio, 35-year-old Jayqwan Hamilton, and 30-year-old Jacob Barroso after the three were indicted — along with four others who have yet to be named — for their roles in connection with the drug-related robberies, asking for the public’s assistance in locating them.
Both Demaio and Hamilton were charged in the deaths of Umberger and Ramirez, while Barroso was charged only in Ramirez’s death. Barroso turned himself into police on Saturday.
Police are still trying to locate Hamilton.
According to The New York Post, when Demaio was arrested on grand larceny charges in a separate case in July, police reportedly executed a search warrant on his cell phone and discovered videos of him and another suspect inside the Upper East Side apartment owned by Umberger’s employer, where the 33-year-old had been staying while visiting the city.
One of the videos reportedly shows Umberger lying in bed, face up and unconscious — the same position that he was discovered in four days later. That video was later used to connect Demaio to the drugging scheme in the more recent indictment.
On Monday, Demaio, Barroso, and another alleged member of the robbery crew, Andre Butts, were arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court. Demaio was charged with two counts of murder, and multiple counts of grand larceny, robbery, and drug-related charges.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Emily Chang argued in court that Demaio and his co-defendants had approached individuals exiting bars or nightclubs in Manhattan, offering them a substance promoted as cocaine, but laced with fentanyl and other drugs that would incapacitate their victims.
The gang members then robbed victims of cash and credit cards. They attempted to access their bank accounts, using the victims’ faces to bypass facial recognition technology on their phones and transfer money to themselves.
The medical examiner determined earlier this year that Umberger and Ramirez had died from “acute intoxication” from a mix of fentanyl, cocaine, ethanol, and other drugs, and ruled both deaths homicides.
Both Umberger and Ramirez had tens of thousands of dollars withdrawn from their bank accounts in the hours following their deaths.
Butts, one of Demaio’s co-defendants, was arrested last June for using Ramirez’s credit card to buy two pairs of Nike sneakers for $544.38 at an upscale store in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, mere hours after Ramirez’s dead body was discovered inside a cab on the city’s Lower East Side.
Judge Angela Badamo ordered Demaio and Barroso to be held without bail. Betts, who was previously charged with robbery, was ordered held on $100,000 cash bail or a $150,000 bond.
Another alleged member of the robbery crew, Shane Hoskins, was arrested Thursday and is being held at Rikers Island on $50,000 cash bail or a $100,000 bond.
According to the New York Post, the crew is believed to be connected to at least 17 drug-induced robberies between September 2021 and August 2022. However, police are also investigating a separate string of 26 drug-induced robberies — believed to be carried out by a separate gang deploying a nearly identical scheme against patrons at nightlife spots throughout the city.
Two NYPD officials told NBC News that they believe the robbery crews are targeting victims for financial gain and not because of the victims’ sexual orientation.
However, the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is assisting in the investigation, due to a number of complaints from patrons of gay bars who allegedly survived similar incidents only to find they had been robbed.
“Our entire city continues to mourn the tragic losses of Mr. Ramirez and Mr. Umberger,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “In addition to the unimaginable pain their family and loved ones are during, I know that many other New Yorkers have feared for their own safety when out experiencing New York’s vibrant nightlife.”
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