Two of three men wanted for the drugging deaths of robbery victims partying at New York City gay clubs have been arrested and charged, according to reports.
Brooklyn resident Robert Demaio, 34, turned himself into police Monday after being sought in connection to the death of John Umberger, a 33-year-old political consultant who died of an apparent drug overdose after leaving a Hell’s Kitchen nightclub last spring, and to a separate non-fatal incident involving an unidentified victim, NBC News reported.
Demaio’s arrest comes after 30-year-old Connecticut resident Jacob Barroso’s arrest on Saturday. Barroso was hit with the same charges in connection to the string of viscous crimes, dating back to September 2021.
Authorities last week announced that Barroso and Demaio were wanted alongside another alleged perpetrator, 35-year-old Brooklyn resident Jayqwan Hamilton, in connection to two homicides in Hell’s Kitchen — one on April 21, 2022, and another on June 1, 2022 — as well as 17 separate robberies between September 19, 2021 and August 28, 2022.
The trio is believed to be responsible for the death of Umberger and 25-year-old Julio Cesar Ramirez, both of whom died last spring after ingesting a lethal chemical cocktail while separately partying in Manhattan.
Umberger, who was director of diplomacy and political programs for conservative lawyer Jay Sekulow’s American Center for Law and Justice, and Ramirez, a Brooklyn social worker, were last seen leaving separate Hell’s Kitchen gay clubs about a month apart last year.
Ramirez was last seen leaving the Ritz Bar and Lounge, Gay City News reported, and Umberger was seen leaving The Q — both with a group of unknown men. The Hell’s Kitchen gay nightclubs are located two blocks from each other. Ramirez was found dead in the back seat of a taxi in the Lower East Side April 21. Umberger’s body was found June 1 inside Sekulow’s Upper East Side fifth-floor apartment.
The city’s medical examiner ruled that both victims died of “acute intoxication” from a mix of fentanyl, cocaine, ethanol and other drugs.
Last week, Shane Hoskins was arraigned on felony larceny and identity theft charges in connection with the same string of robberies. Hoskins is said to be connected to the same group as Barroso, Demaio and Hamilton.
Hamilton is still being sought by police.
Additional reporting by Matt Tracy
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