Fifth And Final Arrest Made In Gay Club Drugging Deaths: DA

MIDTOWN, NY — A third suspect wanted for a string of drug-fueled robberies was arrested Monday night after turning himself in, according to officials.

Jayqwan Hamilton, 35, was arrested nearly three weeks after police put out the call to track him down along with a photo at the end of last month, said NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell.

"In the course of their investigation, your NYPD investigators never stopped working to identify those responsible and to bring them to justice," Sewell said in a press conference Tuesday announcing the arrest.

Hamilton, the fifth defendant connected to the string of drugged robberies targeting gay men, was charged with murder, robbery, grand larceny, identity theft and conspiracy 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.

Sewell add that "while the many victims in this case are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, the motive was robbery, the motive was for monetary gain."

Despite not finding a hate crime link, the Mayor wanted to impress that they didn't dismiss the idea of a hateful motivation.

"We want to send a message to our LGBT community that we understood the trauma that you experienced during this time," said Mayor Eric Adams, "and that is why we were very clear that we wanted to investigate any potentiality of a hate crime component to this."

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.

Hamilton and Demaio were charged with the murder of both Ramirez and Umberger, while Barroso is facing a murder charge only in connection to Ramirez.

A total of five people have been arrested and charged in the robbery scheme, Bragg said.

Victims targeted at Midtown gay nightclubs were offered drugs like cocaine and fentanyl late at night and then robbed of their phones, later used to drain bank their accounts. At least two people were tragically 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.