In the spaces where people seek belonging and release, a predatory scheme turned Manhattan's gay bars into hunting grounds between 2021 and 2022. Three men — Jayqwan Hamilton, Robert Demaio, and Jacob Barroso — were convicted Monday of murder, robbery, and conspiracy after a three-week trial revealed how they systematically drugged and robbed patrons, leaving two young men, Julio Ramirez and John Umberger, dead. The verdict is a reminder that vulnerability exploited for greed carries consequences that no courtroom can fully repair, and that justice, when it arrives, arrives for the living as m
Three convicted in NYC gay bar drugging scheme that killed two men
Two men, Julio Ramirez (25) and John Umberger (33), died as a result of being drugged during the robbery scheme.
Greed left two young men dead in spaces meant to be safe
Mark
What made this case move from robbery to murder in the eyes of the law?
Mimi
The deaths. Julio Ramirez and John Umberger died as a direct result of being drugged during these robberies. When fentanyl is involved, the line between theft and homicide collapses.
Luke
But I want to be precise here—did they die from overdose, or from complications of the drugging? The source says they died "as part of" the scheme, but the exact medical cause matters for understanding culpability.
Mimi
That's fair. The source confirms the deaths were connected to the drugging, but you're right that the specific toxicology and cause of death aren't detailed here.
Mark
How long had this been happening before anyone caught on?
Mimi
Over a year—March 2021 to June 2022. Five men were targeted. It wasn't until May 2022, when NBC News reported on Ramirez's death, that it became public.
Luke
So they were operating for over a year before media coverage. That suggests either the victims didn't report it, or reports weren't connected initially.
Mimi
Exactly. These were crimes in nightlife settings, victims who were disoriented, bank accounts being drained remotely. It took time to connect the dots.
Mark
What happens to the other two men involved?
Mimi
Shane Hoskins and Andre Butts already pleaded guilty. They each got eight years.
Luke
Eight years for their roles—but we don't know yet what Hamilton, Demaio, and Barroso will receive. Murder convictions could mean much longer sentences.
Der Puls
- A methodical drugging operation ran undetected for over a year, targeting gay bar patrons across Manhattan with fentanyl and cocaine slipped into their drinks.
- Two men — Julio Ramirez, 25, and John Umberger, 33 — died as a result, transforming a robbery spree into a murder case and drawing public scrutiny that helped crack the scheme open.
- A three-week trial exposed the full architecture of the conspiracy: five victims targeted, bank accounts drained, stolen funds spent on shopping sprees, and at least five individuals involved.
- All three defendants were convicted on every count — murder, robbery, and conspiracy — while two co-conspirators had already resolved their cases through guilty pleas carrying eight-year sentences.
- Sentencing for Hamilton, Demaio, and Barroso now looms as the final legal reckoning, with the families of the two victims still waiting for the process to reach its end.
In the spaces where people seek belonging and release, a predatory scheme turned Manhattan's gay bars into hunting grounds between 2021 and 2022. Three men — Jayqwan Hamilton, Robert Demaio, and Jacob Barroso — were convicted Monday of murder, robbery, and conspiracy after a three-week trial revealed how they systematically drugged and robbed patrons, leaving two young men, Julio Ramirez and John Umberger, dead. The verdict is a reminder that vulnerability exploited for greed carries consequences that no courtroom can fully repair, and that justice, when it arrives, arrives for the living as much as for the lost.
A Manhattan jury returned guilty verdicts Monday against three men who ran a predatory drugging and robbery scheme through the city's gay bars, killing two people in the process. Jayqwan Hamilton, Robert Demaio, and Jacob Barroso were convicted on all counts — murder, robbery, and conspiracy — after prosecutors spent three weeks detailing an operation that was as calculated as it was lethal.
From March 2021 through June 2022, the men targeted five victims at Manhattan nightlife venues, slipping fentanyl and cocaine into drinks and waiting for incapacitation to set in. They then stole phones and drained bank accounts, spending the proceeds freely. The scheme drew public attention in May 2022 when NBC News reported on the mysterious death of Julio Ramirez, 25 — a thread that eventually unraveled the entire operation. John Umberger, 33, was the second man killed. Both had been in spaces where they had every reason to feel safe.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg called the defendants' motivation pure greed and acknowledged that the verdict, while meaningful, cannot restore what the victims' families lost. Two other participants in the scheme — Shane Hoskins and Andre Butts — had already pleaded guilty and received promised sentences of eight years each.
For Hamilton, Demaio, and Barroso, sentencing remains ahead. The verdicts are settled; the question of how many decades they will serve is not. For the families of Ramirez and Umberger, the legal process continues its slow, necessary work.
A jury in downtown Manhattan returned guilty verdicts Monday against three men accused of orchestrating a predatory scheme that drugged and robbed patrons at gay bars across the city, leaving two men dead. Jayqwan Hamilton, Robert Demaio, and Jacob Barroso were convicted on all counts—murder, robbery, and conspiracy—after a three-week trial that laid bare a methodical operation spanning more than a year.
Between March 2021 and June 2022, prosecutors said, the three men targeted five victims in Manhattan's nightlife venues. Their method was calculated: they would slip drugs into drinks—fentanyl and cocaine among them—then wait for disorientation to set in. Once a victim was incapacitated, the men would steal phones and drain bank accounts, using the stolen funds for shopping sprees. The scheme might have continued undetected longer had it not been for a death that drew media attention. In May 2022, NBC News reported on the mysterious circumstances surrounding Julio Ramirez, a 25-year-old whose death would eventually be traced to the drugging operation.
Ramirez was one of two men killed by the scheme. The other was John Umberger, 33. Both had been out in the city, vulnerable in spaces where they should have been safe. Their deaths transformed what might have been prosecuted as a series of robberies into a murder case—a reflection of the lethal consequences when fentanyl enters the equation, when predators care only about what they can extract from a person's bank account, not whether that person survives the night.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg framed the convictions in stark terms. "These defendants were motivated by greed, and their callous behavior left two young men dead," he said in a statement. He acknowledged the ongoing suffering of the families who lost their sons and brothers, and suggested the verdict might offer some measure of solace, though no verdict can restore what was taken.
The case did not end with these three convictions. Two other men involved in the scheme had already resolved their cases through guilty pleas. Shane Hoskins pleaded guilty to attempted robbery in the first degree, and Andre Butts pleaded guilty to robbery in the first degree. Both received promised sentences of eight years. The full scope of the conspiracy—five men targeted, two dead, at least five people involved—speaks to how organized and sustained the operation had become before law enforcement dismantled it.
What remains now is sentencing for Hamilton, Demaio, and Barroso. The verdicts are in. The question of how long they will spend in prison, and whether that time will be measured in decades, will be answered in the coming weeks or months. For the families of Ramirez and Umberger, the legal process continues its slow march toward closure.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
These defendants were motivated by greed, and their callous behavior left two young men dead. I know the families who lost their loved ones are still suffering from so much pain, and I hope this verdict can provide at least some measure of comfort.— District Attorney Alvin Bragg
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