Second suspect arrested in connection with deaths at New York City gay bars

A second suspect was arrested and charged with murder in connection with a string of drug-facilitated robberies of men who visited gay bars in New York City that included two deaths, two senior law enforcement officials told NBC News on Monday. 

Robert Demaio, 34, was charged with murder, robbery, grand larceny, identity theft and conspiracy in connection with the death of John Umberger, a 33-year-old political consultant, and in a separate incident in which an unidentified victim did not die, the officials said.

Umberger and Julio Ramirez, a 25-year-old social worker, were both found dead after visiting gay bars in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood last spring. Both had left the bars with at least one unknown person before their bank accounts were drained of thousands of dollars using facial recognition access on their phones, according to their family members.

Last month, the medical examiner’s office ruled their deaths as homicides caused by a “drug-facilitated theft.” Multiple drugs were found in their systems, including fentanyl, lidocaine and cocaine.

Demaio’s detention follows the arrest of Jacob Barroso on Saturday. Barroso, 30, was charged with murder, robbery, grand larceny and conspiracy in connection with Ramirez’s death and in a separate incident where the victim survived, police said Sunday. 

In addition to Demaio and Barroso, authorities named a third suspect believed to be connected to the homicides, Jayqwan Hamilton, 35, on Friday. Police said they believe the three men are among those responsible for a broader “citywide robbery pattern” that includes at least 17 victims. The incidents — which include Ramirez’s and Umberger’s robberies and deaths — occurred between Sept. 19, 2021, and Aug. 28, 2022, the spokesperson said.

Last week, Shane Hoskins was arraigned on felony larceny and identity theft charges in connection with the same string of robberies.

An indictment naming Hoskins, 31, and four other unidentified co-conspirators outlined a pattern where victims were “incapacitated to the extent that their ability to perceive events became diminished,” so that the suspects could then steal their victims’ cellphones and credit cards and use the physical cards and information stored on the victims’ phones to transfer money to themselves and make purchases.

NBC News has spoken with several gay men who said they survived similar incidents from December 2021 to October 2022. 

The New York City Police Department previously confirmed to NBC News that there are multiple groups of criminals committing these types of crimes against men visiting the city’s gay bars. Police also said that comparable crimes were being committed against patrons of bars without any LGBTQ affiliation.

One separate group is suspected of committing similar crimes on 26 victims, two law enforcement officials told NBC News last week. Fashion designer Kathryn Marie Gallagher, whose death in July was ruled a drug-facilitated homicide by the medical examiner’s office, was one of the subsequent group’s victims, the officials said.

Last week, the New York City medical examiner’s office also confirmed that it is investigating “several additional deaths in similar circumstances” to those of Ramirez and Umberger. It is unclear, however, if they were found dead after visiting gay bars or whether they were connected with Demaio, Barroso and Hamilton. 

A spokesperson for the medical examiner’s office said they “could not comment further due to the ongoing criminal investigations.”