A Manhattan judge has sentenced three men to decades behind bars over their scheme which saw them target men in gay bars, drug them and then rob their victims.
The scheme lead to the deaths of two men, Julio Ramirez, a 25-year-old social worker, and John Umberger, a 33-year-old political consultant.
Jayqwan Hamilton, 37, Jacob Barroso, 32, and Robert DeMaio, 36, were found guilty in February of committing robbery, murder and conspiracy over a series of attacks that occurred between March 2021 and June 2022.
All three of the defendants were convicted of murdering Ramirez. Two of them, Hamilton and DeMaio, were convicted of murdering Umberger. Hamilton and Barroso spoke at the sentencing delcaring that they were innocent of the crimes they’d been found guilty of.
Judge Felicia Mennin sentenced Hamilton and DeMaio to 40 years to life in prison, and Barroso to 20 years to life behind bars.
During the trial prosecutors argued that the trio had drugged at least five victims and then used their lifeless faces to gain access to their phones via facial recognition technology, once inside the men’s phones they access their banking apps stealing money from their accounts.
Speaking to the court, the families of the two men who had died shared how the crimes had impacted their lives. Carols Ramirez spoke about how his brother Julio had just begun his career as a mental health counselor.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr commented on the sentences saying nothing would be able to undo the tragic loss the families had experienced.
“Julio Ramirez and John Umberger were beloved by their friends and family and had incredibly bright futures ahead of them,” Bragg said. “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.”
During the investigation into the deaths of the two men police realised that alongside the three men they identified in relation to the deaths of Umberger and Ramierz, there was another series of deaths that were eventually attributed to another man using the same methodology.
Kenwood Allen was arrested over the deaths of four other men around the same time. He has pleaded not guilty, and his case is yet to go to trial.
