The three members of a fiendish, fentanyl-wielding robbery crew that targeted drunk clubgoers in Hell’s Kitchen several years ago were found guilty Monday of mugging and drugging five different gay men — two of them fatally.
Jayqwan Hamilton, Robert DeMaio and Jacob Barroso were convicted by a Manhattan jury on every count prosecutors hit them with — including murder, robbery, burglary, conspiracy and larceny — for the ghoulish crimes, which left dead political consultant John Umberger and Brooklyn social worker Julio Ramirez.
DeMaio broke down in tears after the verdict, which took the jury about a day-and-a-half to reach.
But it was sweet justice for the families who were robbed of their loved ones by the heartless gang’s cruel misdeeds.
“I feel like John and Julio were in heaven and rejoicing with the decision of the jurors, and I am so grateful to the jurors who came to the conclusion that they did — that they sacrificed so much time and paid attention and listened,” Linda Cleary, John Umberger’s mother, said afterward.
“John was my oldest son, best friend, and just a great human being,” she continued. “He loved his work and loved his job. He was excited about being in New York City. He was the life of the party, and he just was always a bright light.”
During the trial, prosecutors said the suspects — allegedly part of a larger robbery gang — had killed Umberger, 33, and Ramirez, 25, by giving them fentanyl-laced drugs meant to knock them out.
Last March, the city medical examiner said the two had died from “acute intoxication” stemming from a mix of fentanyl, cocaine, ethanol and other drugs.
In their closing statements, defense attorneys admitted their clients may indeed be criminals — but said they weren’t killers. They also claimed the prosecution hadn’t proved the defendants supplied the drugs.
But Assistant District Attorney Meghan Hast batted that away during her closing arguments as she walked the jury through the avalanche of evidence she said proved the trio’s guilt.
“Did these men just happen upon people who took fentanyl on five different occasions?” she asked the jury.
“The idea that all this was accidental and that they simply profited from it — making them guilty of petit larceny — is the definition of an outlandish theory.”
All three were charged for killing Ramirez — while Hamilton, 37, and DeMaio, 36, were also charged for Umberger’s death.
In a statement after the verdict, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the trio “took advantage of people who were just trying to enjoy Manhattan’s vibrant nightlife.”
“These defendants were motivated by greed, and their callous behavior left two young men dead,” he said. “I know the families who lost their loved ones are still suffering from so much pain, and I hope this verdict can provide at least some measure of comfort.”
The men kicked off their brutal campaign on March 18, 2022, when they robbed and burglarized a man at Hyatt Union Square, prosecutors said during the trial.
They continued their criminal spree throughout the spring, often chatting up inebriated men at West Side hot spots, then knocking them out with their lethal chemical cocktails and robbing them blind.
In April, Hamilton and Barroso approached Ramirez outside The Ritz bar in Manhattan, then convinced him to get in a cab with them.
“Julio was given cocaine laced with fentanyl, causing him to go into respiratory failure in under 15 minutes,” Hast told the court, adding that otherwise, Ramirez was a “healthy 25-year-old man.”
The defendants grabbed his phone, drained his bank accounts and took off when Ramirez passed out.
Then they went on a wild shopping spree at Prada, Capsule and Sneaker Palace with their victim’s money — leaving their young victim for dead in the cab.
The following month, Hamilton and DeMaio approached Umberger outside The Q NYC, then went back to his townhouse with him at about 6 a.m.
Minutes later, Umberger was passed out on his bed — and Hamilton and DeMaio stayed for another half-hour as they ripped him off, she added.
“[They] hit the jackpot, and they were not going to screw it up,” Hast told the court. “They had hooked a slightly older, very successful gay man. John clearly had money, and they needed time to transfer those funds.”
The convicted killers will be sentenced April 4.
