A suspect in deaths of gay NYC club patrons surrendered three days after polices identified suspects in multiple crimes, including homicide, but two of his co-conspirators are still on the run

Jacob Barroso, 30, of Harlem gave up and was charged for his role specifically in the death of Julio Ramirez, 25, who along with John Umberger, 33

Ramirez died last spring after ingesting a lethal chemical cocktail while separately partying in Manhattan

Umberger and Ramirez both died of “acute intoxication” from a mix of fentanyl, cocaine, ethanol and other drugs, the ME said in March

Two other suspects Jayqwan Hamilton, 35, and Robert Demaio, 34, who were also indicted last week for the murders, remain at large

Trio is part of a larger gang that is accused of drugging and robbing people in 17 separate instances throughout the city between September 2021 and August 2022

Cops connected deaths to a string of robberies by a gang operating in the area’s gay clubs – drugging victims and using mobile cash apps to siphon tens of thousands of dollars from their bank accounts

One of the three suspects in the drugging deaths of two robbery victims after they left gay clubs in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen Sunday, turned himself in to authorities.
Days after new York police named suspects in the drug induced deaths of the robbery victims, Jacob Barroso, 30, of Harlem gave up and was charged for his role specifically in the death of Julio Ramirez, 25, who along with John Umberger, 33, last spring.
Both men died after ingesting a lethal chemical cocktail while separately partying in Manhattan, sources said.
Two other suspects in the men’s deaths, Jayqwan Hamilton, 35, and Robert Demaio, 34, both of Brooklyn, also were indicted last week for the crimes but remain on the lam.
The trio of suspects are part of a larger gang that is accused of drugging and robbing people in 17 separate instances throughout the city between September 2021 and August 2022, police sources have said.
Three days earlier, the NYPD had identified and released photos of three suspects allegedly behind the murders of two men who were fatally drugged after going out to The Ritz Bar and Lounge, and The Q NYC, both gay nightclubs in Hell’s Kitchen i the spring of 2022.
The trio, along with three other suspects, also face charges of grand larceny, robbery and conspiracy to drug and rob in connection to at least 17 incidents throughout the city between September 2021 and August 2022, police said.
Umberger and Ramirez both died of “acute intoxication” from a mix of fentanyl, cocaine, ethanol and other drugs, the city medical examiner said March 3.

At Large: Two other suspects Jayqwan Hamilton [left], and Robert Demaio [right], are remain fugitives, police said

Both were victims of homicides stemming from “drug-facilitated deaths,” the examiner concluded.
Authorities have charged Barroso with murder, robbery, grand larceny and conspiracy, sources said.
The alleged killers sprang on the men in separate incidents when the victims were leaving the Q NYC and Ritz Bar and Lounge.
NYPD Detective Randy Rose connected the deaths to a string of robberies by a gang working the area’s gay clubs.
The group drugged victims, ‘then used mobile cash apps to siphon off tens of thousands of dollars’ from their bank accounts.

Washington D.C. base political consultant John Umberger, [photo], 34, was one of the victims who was fatally drugged and robbed in May 2022. After his death more than $25,000 was transferred out of his accounts through apps such as Venmo and PayPal

Julio Ramirez [photo], 30, died last spring after he ingested a lethal cocktail allegedly provided by Barroso and others. His bank accounts was then emptied of about $20,000 through payment apps

Umberger, a political consultant from Washington, DC, disappeared May 28, 2022, after a Saturday night on the town.
He’d been partying at The Q NYC, a gay nightclub at 795 Eighth Avenue, while visiting New York for work.
Four days later, his body was found on the fifth floor of an Upper East Side townhouse owned by conservative lawyer Jay Sekulow’s American Center for Law and Justice, where Umberger worked as director of diplomacy and political programs.
Umberger’s cell phone and credit card were missing, and more than $25,000 had been transferred out of his accounts through apps such as Venmo and PayPal.
Ramirez, a Brooklyn social worker, was found dead weeks earlier in the back of a taxi on the Lower East Side at about 4 a.m.

John Umberger one of the victims fatally drugged and robbed last year by the gang had spent the night partying at The Q NYC, a gay nightclub at 795 Eighth Avenue, NY

Another victims, Julio Ramirez, was at the Ritz Bar and Lounge on West 46th Street in Manhattan before his death

He’d been at the Ritz Bar and Lounge, a gay club on West 46th Street that is just two blocks from Q NYC.
Ramirez’s phone and wallet were missing after the April 21 robbery.
His bank accounts had also been emptied of about $20,000 through payment apps, and the thieves maxed out his credit cards on expensive dinners and spa services.

Kenwood Allen, [photo], allegedly part of the vicious gang that has been drugging inebriated revelers and robbing them, with at least 26 attacks since March 2022 was charged with murder in December

In December, 2022, Kenwood Allen, 33, another member of the A member of a violent Manhattan robbery crew that targets patrons at Big Apple nightclubs, including gay bars, was arrested and charged with murder in the overdose deaths of two partygoers.
Police at the time said they had identified at least five members of the crew, as the investigation into the crimes progressed.
Allen was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, three counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, two counts of second-degree robbery, and two counts of second-degree assault.
Manhattan prosecutors allege that the gang drugged victims with fentanyl in order to rob them of their phones, credit cards or watch.”
Victims were then “left to overdose on the street, not caring if they lived or died.”