Suspect Turns Himself In For String Of Hell’s Kitchen Robberies, Killings
| 03 Apr 2023 | 04:35
A man found dead in lower East Side taxi had apparently met several men at The Ritz Bar & Lounge in Hell’s Kitchen who drugged him and drained his bank account. Photo: Kay Bontempo
One of three suspects sought for last year’s string of robberies and murders in Hell’s Kitchen has turned himself in to police. The other two suspects remain at large.
Last spring, social worker Julio Ramirez, 25, was found dead in a Lower East Side taxi, as reported by the New York Times. He had been drugged by several men he met at Hell’s Kitchen bar the Ritz that night, and money had been transferred out of his bank account. The killing may be related to the death of John Umberger, 33, whose body was found days after he left a nightclub around the corner from the Ritz. Twenty thousand dollars had been swiped from Umberger’s accounts after his death.
According to NYPD, 30-year-old Jacob Barroso of New Britain, CT was arrested on Saturday, April 1st in connection with the crimes. He is charged with murder, robbery, grand larceny, identity theft and conspiracy.
The two men’s deaths are part of a string of similar druggings and robberies between 2020 and 2022 in Hell’s Kitchen and the surrounding neighborhoods. Many of the crimes occurred in Manhattan’s gay bars and disproportionately affected the gay community, though the victims have been a mixture of straight and gay New Yorkers. The victims were drugged with a combination of substances, possibly including GHB.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips.