'Leader' In Gay Club Robs, Overdose Deaths, Arrested: Report

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A third suspect wanted for a string of drug-fueled robberies was arrested Monday night after turning himself in, according to multiple reports.

Jayqwan Hamilton, 35, turned himself in to police nearly three weeks after police put out the call to track him down along with a photo at the end of last month, reports the Daily News.

According to NBC News, Hamilton has been charged with murder, robbery, grand larceny, identity theft and conspiricy in connection to the deaths of John Umberger, 33, a Washington, D.C. political consultant who died in an Upper East Side townhouse last May, and Julio Cesar Ramirez, 25, was found unconscious in the back of a taxi in the Lower East Side and later died.

Two other men wanted alongside Hamilton, Jacob Barroso, 30, and Robert Demaio, 34, were arrested earlier this month.

They all face similar charges in connection with the two deaths and at least 17 drugged robberies of patrons at gay nightclubs in Midtown between September 2021 and August 2022, police said.

Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell are expected to provide an update on the case at an afternoon press conference on Tuesday.

Victims targeted at Midtown gay nightclubs were drugged, robbed of phones later used to drain bank their accounts, and left for dead, officials said.

A medical examiner last month ruled that the two deaths were “drug facilitated thefts,” caused by a mix of fentanyl, cocaine, ethanol and other drugs, the Daily News reported.

Last month, six men were indicted by a grand jury, including Hamilton, Demaio and Barroso, according to the Daily News.

“It was an answer to our prayers and we are grateful,” Umberger’s mother Linda Clary told the Daily News after last week's indictment. “But the streets are still not safe as these are life-long criminals.”

Police said in November at least seven people had died in connection to Manhattan nightlife robberies.