What happened to Julio Ramirez? Suspects arrested in deaths of two men drugged in an NYC gay bar

Jacob Barroso was arrested and charged over the deaths of Julio Ramirez, 25, and John Umberger, 33, in a New York City gay bar. Ramirez and Umberger were partying in Hell’s Kitchen’s LGBT neighborhood in 2022. They were reportedly drugged and then assaulted by Jacob and two other men.

According to reports, Julio Ramirez and John Umberger died due to a lethal dose of fentanyl-laced drugs. Police immediately ruled the deaths homicides and found three suspects, Jacob Barroso, Jayqwan Hamilton, and Robert Demalo.

Demalo and Hamilton were indicted last week for the alleged crimes that led to the deaths of Julio and Umberger. The New York Police Department revealed that the deaths are related to a string of robberies that have been happening in the areas around the gay clubs.

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Suspects of Julio Ramirez and John Umberger's case have been charged with first-degree murder

A string of robberies occurred where the culprits primarily targeted several nightclubs, including various gay bars in Manhattan. Initially, authorities thought that the gang was targeting only LGBTQ clubs, however, several straight bars were also impacted. They would allegedly drug people and rob them eventually. NYPD Detective Randy Rose confirmed the same as well.

One such incident ended up killing Julio Ramirez, whose body was found on April 21, 2022, in the back of a cab on the Lower East Side at about 4 am. A similar incident happened on May 28, 2022, after John Umberger disappeared after partying at The Q NYC. His body was discovered around four days later on the fifth floor of the E. 61st Street townhouse.

Authorities identified a gang of six members allegedly involved in the two killings, of which they've arrested Jacob Barroso, 30, Robert Demalo, 34, and Jayqwan Hamilton, 35. The three were indicted as well. Barroso was the third to be arrested. The three suspects have been charged with first-degree murder, and the entire gang of six has been charged with first-degree robbery, grand larceny, and conspiracy. Last week, when Demalo and Hamilton were indicted, prosecutors claimed that at least one individual could be charged with second-degree murder.

On April 21, 2022, 25-year-old social worker Julio Ramirez was found dead in the back of a taxi at about 4 am. He was seen partying at the Ritz Bar and Lounge, located on West 46th Street. Surveillance footage captured Ramirez exiting the club along with three men at around 3:17 am local time.

Upon discovering his body, police couldn’t recover his wallet or cell phone. A total of $20,000 was also transferred out of his account through Venmo and Zelle. Authorities also discovered that Ramirez’s credit cards were later used to pay for spa services and expensive dinners.

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A few weeks after Ramirez's death, a similar incident killed John Umberger outside a nightclub

Umberger was a political consultant from Washington, DC, and went missing on May 28, 2022. He was clubbing at The Q NYC, a gay club located at 795 Eighth Avenue in New York. The Q NYC club is around two blocks away from the Ritz Bar, where Julio Ramirez was partying.

Around four days later, authorities discovered Umberger’s body in a townhouse owned by conservative attorney Jay Sekulow’s American Center for Law and Justice. It was the same place where John Umberger was employed as the director of diplomacy and political programs.

Upon investigation, authorities discovered that the last time his credit card was used was at the club at 3 am. Around 4 am., he was spotted in surveillance footage, where Umberger was also accompanied by three men in a car outside of the Upper East Side apartment.

When police discovered his body, they couldn’t recover his credit card or cell phone. However, they noticed that, just like Julio Ramirez, around $25,000 had been deducted from John’s accounts through apps like PayPal and Venmo. It's not just Umberger and Julio Ramirez; many such cases happened last year near nightclubs. Police further discovered that both Umberger and Ramirez died due to fentanyl that was present in the drugs they consumed.

On March 3, the city medical examiner confirmed that both died of “acute intoxication” from a mix of fentanyl, cocaine, ethanol, and various other drugs. The examiner concluded that both Ramirez and Umberger have become victims of “drug-facilitated deaths.” Law enforcement officials claimed that the suspects sprang onto the men in two isolated incidents, while exiting the respective bars.

A candlelight vigil was organized outside the Ritz Bar and Lounge, where Julio Ramirez was last spotted. A demonstrator named Chris LeBron said,

“We need to speak up and we need to look out for each other, and that’s something Hell’s Kitchen had done my entire life.”

Many similar incidents have happened at several clubs over a short period of time, where people would be drugged and robbed.