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New York|Three Sentenced for Luring Gay-Bar Robbery Victims to Their Deaths
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/nyregion/gay-bar-murder-sentencing.html
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The men were convicted of murder, robbery and conspiracy in what prosecutors described as a “deadly hustle” that targeted patrons at night spots in Manhattan.
May 21, 2025, 2:39 p.m. ET
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 gay bar. After withdrawing more than $20,000 from Mr. Umberger’s bank accounts, the defendants posed for pictures, toasted next to his unconscious body and lounged on his balcony with drinks.
On Wednesday, two men convicted of murder in February for drugging, robbing and ultimately luring Mr. Ramirez and Mr. Umberger to their deaths were sentenced.
Jayqwan Hamilton, 37, Robert DeMaio, 36, and Jacob Barroso, 32, were all convicted of murder, robbery and conspiracy in the murder of Mr. Ramirez.
Mr. Hamilton and Mr. DeMaio, who were also convicted of burglary and murder in the death of Mr. Umberger, received 40 years to life in prison. Mr. Barroso, who faced charges only in Mr. Ramirez’s death, received a lighter sentence of 20 years to life.
