A night out in New York City’s vibrant Hell’s Kitchen district — known for its gay bars and nightlife — turned tragic in 2022 when two men, Julio Ramirez and John Umberger, were drugged, robbed, and murdered in what prosecutors described as a calculated and cruel scheme.
Ramirez, a 25-year-old social worker, had been out for drinks with a friend at the Ritz Bar & Lounge on West 46th Street in April 2022. At some point during the night, he was seen leaving the venue with three men — later identified as Jayqwan Hamilton, 37, Jacob Barroso, 32, and Robert DeMaio, 36. He was found unresponsive in the back of a taxi a short time later. His wallet, phone, and over $20,000 had been drained from his accounts.
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Just a month later, in May 2022, 33-year-old political consultant John Umberger, who was visiting from Washington, D.C., was seen leaving the Q nightclub on West 48th Street — just a few blocks from the Ritz — with two men. He was later found dead in an Upper East Side townhouse. Prosecutors revealed that, after drugging him, the perpetrators withdrew thousands from his bank accounts and even posed for celebratory photos beside his unconscious body, lounging on the balcony and toasting drinks.
This week, justice was delivered, at least legally. All three defendants were convicted in Ramirez’s murder, with Hamilton and DeMaio also found guilty in the killing of Umberger. Hamilton and DeMaio were each sentenced to 40 years in prison. Barroso received a 20-year sentence. While Hamilton expressed sympathy for the victims’ families during sentencing, he maintained his innocence, stating,
“My actions weren’t deadly at all, but I made some mistakes, and I regret them.”
The men reportedly used facial recognition to unlock the victims’ phones while they were unconscious, allowing them access to financial apps — turning nights of celebration into devastating losses for two families.
While convictions bring some measure of justice, the emotional cost remains heavy. The case raised concerns about targeted attacks within the LGBTQ+ nightlife scene, with victims chosen not just for vulnerability but for where — and who — they were.
Hell’s Kitchen is still healing, and while the verdict offers closure, it also serves as a grim reminder: safety and community should never come with a price this high.
REFERENCES: The New York Times, NBC News
This is the world we have allowed to be created around ourselves. These bars in New York are not the only gay bars filled with predators. A lot of bars have been taken over by drug dealers and the drug crowd and they are notorious for treating people badly. The owners don’t care because it brings them business. This is an epidemic and we need to boycott the bars that allow these predators in. Predators fill the bars waiting for victims and we offer them up willingly. For a lot of LGBTQ people the gay bars are no longer safe spaces, they are filled with harassment and they are preyed upon. Umberger was actually drugged in the bar and carried out in front of everyone and not a single person did anything about it.