Three men who were convicted of robbing and fatally drugging men outside of Manhattan gay bars in 2022 were handed sentences of decades to life in prison on May 21.
Jayqwan Hamilton, 37, and Robert DeMaio, 36, were sentenced to 40 years to life in state prison, while 32-year-old Jacob Barroso was sentenced to 20 years to life, also in state prison. The day of sentencing in Manhattan Criminal Court comes three years after the men waited outside of gay bars and took advantage of club-goers by drugging them and using their victims’ phones to empty their bank accounts.
The three men were convicted of second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, and fourth-degree conspiracy. Hamilton and DeMaio were also convicted of first-degree burglary.
All three men were found to be responsible for the deaths of Julio Ramirez, a 25-year-old gay social worker, and DeMaio and Hamilton were also convicted of killing 33-year-old John Umberger, of Washington, DC. All three were convicted in February.
DeMaio and Hamilton first engaged with Umberger outside of The Q nightclub around 4 a.m. on May 28, 2022, and the group subsequently went to Umberger’s boss’ townhouse, where Umberger was found dead. The Q nightclub shuttered in 2023.
Umberger’s mother, Linda Clary, told Gay City News on May 21 that she is grateful for the sentencing and praised those who made it possible.
“Hopefully this will prevent these men from hurting other people,” Crary said. “I also hope it sends a message to anyone even remotely considering targeting the LGBT community — don’t mess with this community! We will come after you if you do.”
Ramirez left The Ritz, a gay bar, at around 3 a.m. on April 21 and waited near the front of the bar for about 12 minutes. He was later seen walking with men around a corner and entered a taxi, where he was driven to the Lower East Side. The driver told a police officer that his passenger was not responsive, and he was pronounced dead at 4:49 a.m.
Clary was disappointed that she was unable to look directly at Barroso, DeMario, and Hamilton. The men’s attorneys faced the victims while the three men remained seated with their backs to the families. During her victim impact statement, Clary said she wanted to look the men in the eye and read their faces while expressing the heartache that she and her family have experienced.
“I would like to pause for 13 seconds to acknowledge the video that was made while my son died and you did nothing to help,” Clary said in her victim impact statement, reported NBC News.
Clary noted that Hamilton, DeMario, and Barroso’s attorneys are appealing their cases. She told Gay City News that she will remain vigilant to ensure they never get out to hurt anyone else ever again. She also vowed to work to protect the LGBTQ community and causes her son cared about through a foundation the family set up in Umberger’s memory.
Hamilton and Barroso spoke at the sentencing Wednesday and maintained their innocence, according to NBC News. DeMaio offered brief condolences to his victims’ families, the New York Times reported. Barroso declined to speak.
Hamilton, however, was defiant. “I maintain my innocence,” he said, adding that he planned to appeal, the New York Times reported. “My actions weren’t deadly at all.”
“This was a cold and calculated pattern,” Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Felicia Mennin said at the sentencing hearing. “I pity your lack of empathy. But pity will not translate into leniency in this case.”
“I’m sympathetic towards the victims and their families. However, I disagree with the verdict. I maintain my innocence,” Hamilton said at Wednesday’s hearing, according to NBC News. “My actions weren’t deadly at all, but I made some mistakes, and I regret them.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sat in on the hearing in the packed courtroom, which also featured friends and relatives of the defendants and the two victims, including Umberger’s father, who traveled from the United Kingdom.
Carlos Ramirez told the court that his brother, Julio, was his best friend and that he had “just begun building his life” and his career as a mental health counselor, NBC News reported.
“What happened to my brother wasn’t just tragic. It was intentional. … It was evil,” he told the court. “What’s worse, he was left alone while the people responsible continued their lives [and] my family was shattered.”
Carlos Ramirez asked Mennin to sentence the men to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He stated they were a “threat to society.” His parents requested “real justice” in a separate victim impact statement.
Following the trial, Bragg called on third-party payment apps to implement more stringent measures to protect consumers. Last year, New York State passed a law to address that issue, but it was vetoed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who carried that legislation in the upper chamber, said in a written statement that “we are currently working on getting it passed again this year.”
“Julio Ramirez and John Umberger were beloved by their friends and family and had incredibly bright futures ahead of them,” Bragg said in a written statement on May 21. “Yet their lives were cut short by these defendants, who displayed a wanton disregard towards their victims. They left both men to die as they used their financial accounts to purchase clothes and sneakers, never once showing concern about the deadly consequences of their actions. We will never be able to undo the tragic losses of Mr. Ramirez and Mr. Umberger, but I hope these significant prison sentences can provide some closure to their loved ones.”
Shane Hoskins and Andre Butts, who were also involved in the scheme, were sentenced earlier this year to eight years in prison.
