NYC Trio Sentenced To Decades In Drugging, Robbing, And Killing Of Manhattan LGBTQ Bar Patrons [VIDEO]

The New York Times reports:

One night in April 2022, Julio Ramirez left a Manhattan gay bar, escorted by a group of men into a taxi. It was just after 3 a.m. About an hour later, the taxi driver reported to the police that Mr. Ramirez was alone and abandoned in the back of his cab. Mr. Ramirez’s bank account had been drained, and his wallet, phone and ID stolen. The men had given him a fatal cocktail of drugs before leaving him for dead.

A month later, John Umberger died in an Upper East Side townhouse following an encounter with the men at another bar. After withdrawing more than $20,000 from Mr. Umberger’s accounts, the defendants posed for pictures, toasted next to his unconscious body and lounged on his balcony with drinks. On Wednesday, men convicted of murder in February for drugging, robbing and ultimately luring Mr. Ramirez and Mr. Umberger to their deaths were sentenced.

New York City’s NBC affiliate reports:

Jayqwan Hamilton, 37, Jacob Barroso, 32, and Robert DeMaio, 36, were found guilty in February of committing murder, robbery and conspiracy in connection with the scheme that lasted from March 2021 to June 2022. Julio Ramirez, a 25-year-old social worker, and John Umberger, a 33-year-old political consultant, were murdered in the spring of 2022 in the scheme.

All three of the defendants were convicted of murdering Ramirez. Two of them, Hamilton and DeMaio, were convicted of murdering Umberger. Hamilton and Barroso spoke at the sentencing on Wednesday and maintained their innocence.

Hamilton and DeMaio were sentenced to 40 years to life in prison, and Barroso was sentenced to 20 years to life. “This was a cold and calculated pattern,” Judge Felicia Mennin said at the Wednesday sentencing hearing. “I pity your lack of empathy. But pity will not translate into leniency in this case.”

There are three other known victims and others are believed to be too afraid or embarrassed to come forward.

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