One of the men wanted in a series of drug overdose deaths at Manhattan gay bars has turned himself in to the New York police.
Identified as Jacob Barroso, 30, he is one of the alleged gang members indicted by the Manhattan grand jury on March 23 for murder, robbery, grand theft and conspiracy in the deaths of John Umberger and Julio Ramírez.
Barroso is specifically accused of Ramírez’s murder, according to authorities.
Ramirez, who was a social worker from Brooklyn, was found unconscious in the back seat of a taxi on the Lower East Side in the early hours of April 21 last year, after visiting a gay bar, Ritz Bar and Lounge located at W. 46th Street.
On the other hand, Umberger, from Washington, was a public consultant, and was found dead on June 1, 2022 in an Upper East Side apartment where he was staying. He lost his life after going to Qa gay nightclub located in Hell’s Kitchen.
According to the city’s medical examiner, he determined that the deaths of Ramírez, 25, and Umberger, 33, were homicides caused by “drug-facilitated robberies.”
Both victims are among seven people who lost their lives from overdoses after criminals smuggled drugs laced with fentanyl and other deadly opioids into them as they left Manhattan bars and restaurants, officials said.
Authorities are still searching for the two alleged members of Barroso’s gang, Jayqwan Hamilton, 35, and Robert DeMaio, 34, the Daily News reported.
The robbers target victims as they leave Manhattan bars, offering them drugs or drug-laced cigarettes, police say. When people are knocked unconscious, criminals take their cell phones and then use cash transfer apps to drain their bank accounts.
On March 24, well-known Lower East Side fashion designer Kathryn Marie Gallagher, who died on July 24, 2022, was added to the list of victims who died of drug overdose administered by robbers.
So far, it’s unclear whether Barroso, Hamilton and DeMaio’s team or members of a separate robbery group were responsible for Gallagher’s death.
Barroso, who was arrested on Saturday, is charged with murder, robbery, grand theft and conspiracy. He is expected to be arraigned this Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court.
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