New York police have responded to community concerns about a growing number of men who appear to have been fatally poisoned with narcotics before being robbed of their life savings.
Back in April 25-year-old social worker Julio Ramirez was found dead in the back of a taxi after a night out with friends. Days after his death his bank accounts were drained. His family raised concern about his unexpected death.
Ramirez had met up with a friend earlier in the evening in the Hell’s Kitchen neighbourhood. Security footage shows that a few hours later he left the Ritz Bar and Lounge, a gay nightclub, in the company of three unknown men. They all caught a taxi, but Ramirez was abandoned, and the driver realized he was unresponsive. The taxi driver called for police help, and Ramirez was rushed to a nearby hospital, but in the early hours of the morning he was pronounced dead.
At the time of his death his wallet and phone were missing. Sooner afterward his Apple iCloud password was changed, and all his savings were transferred out of his bank account.
Police now say they are aware of several similar incidents and believe that there are multiple groups targeting people in nightclubs, drugging them, and then stealing their money from their bank accounts.
In March Nurbu Sherpa, a 29-year-old chef was found dead on the pavement after leaving a bar where he has been celebrating St Patrick’s Day according to the US ABC News.
Another similar incident appears to have occurred in May when 33-year-old John Umberger was found dead in a New York townhouse from an apparent drug overdose. The political consultant had been visiting from Washington D.C. and police found footage of him leaving a club, propped up by several men. Money was missing from his bank account.
In July Ardijan Berisha and a fried both passed out on Ludlow Street on New York’s Lower East Side after drinking at the Hotel Chantelle. When Berisha’s friend woke up he found him in a fetal position, and he was unable to be revived.
In November New York police said they believed that there were two or more groups of offenders targeting men in nightclub by spiking their drinks, sometimes with fatal consequences. Police say they have received multiple reports of men being targeted and many of the cases remain unsolved. At least six people have died, while there are 26 cases of people being drugged.
On Thursday Manhattan’s District Attorney announced that an arrest had been made in relation to the death of Nurbu Sherpa and Ardijan Berisha. Kenwood Allen, 33, who resides in the Bronx is accused of allegedly drugging his victims with fentanyl and then robbing them. Alongside the two cases which had fatal outcomes, he is also charged with three other incidents where the victims survived.
At a media conference New York police said the other incidents were still being investigated but most of the victims had been given a combination of lidocaine, fentanyl and cocaine, with lidocaine being the substance that really incapacitated people.
NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig has said that while several of the crimes involved gay men, police did not believe gay men were being specifically targeted as there were also victims who had no connection to the LGBTIQA+ communities.
“We don’t particularly think they’re targeting gay members,” he said. “This is based solely on monetary gain.”
While police have only released the name of Allen, they have also reportedly arrested a second man in relation to the crimes, and also have three other suspects.
There have also been suggestions that a separate criminal gang is targeting gay venues, using a similar approach, but the police have not elaborated on their investigations into the incidents at LGBTIQA+ venues.
OIP Staff
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