Who is Jacob Barroso?
The NYPD has arrested one of the three suspects wanted in connection with the deaths of two men found drugged after leaving gay bars in Manhattan.
NEW YORK CITY – The NYPD has arrested one of the three suspects wanted in connection with the deaths of two men found drugged after leaving gay bars in Manhattan.
According to police, Jacob Barroso, 30, of Connecticut, faces charges, including murder and robbery.
Barroso, as well as two other men, are accused in the 2022 deaths of John Umberger and Julio Ramirez. Victims drugged, robbed at gay bars
City officials are sounding the alarm about a string of incidents at gay bars in Manhattan.
Both were drugged in two different gay bars in Hell's Kitchen, police said.
The NYPD is calling the homicides part of a citywide robbery pattern involving at least 17 incidents.
The two other suspects are still on the run.
Umberger, 33, was at The Q NYC, a popular gay nightclub in Hell's Kitchen, last Memorial Day weekend. He was last seen leaving with two men. Two days later, his body was found in an apartment on the Upper East Side.
Umberger's phone and credit cards were stolen and more than $25,000 was drained from his bank account.
Umberger was found dead after going to a gay club in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood.
His mother, Linda Clary, spoke out about his death.
“It’s the worst thing ever. John, not only was my firstborn, he was my confidant. He was an advisor. He was an encourager.” Linda Clary
Clary said her son was targeted because he was gay. That is the same claim a friend of Ramirez made last April.
Ramirez died in an eerily similar manner a month before Umberger.
Ramirez was found dead in the back of a taxi after going to a gay nightclub in Manhattan.
He was found dead in the back of a taxi an hour after he was seen leaving The Ritz, a gay club two blocks from The Q NYC. Gay men targeted at Manhattan clubs
The NYPD is investigating several cases where men were assaulted and robbed. Two deaths are also being investigated in connection with the incidents.
Ramirez's phone and credit cards were gone and about $20,000 was missing from his accounts.
“Every last person has been gay, and they’re focused on gay bars and the singling out factor is they all find themselves isolated.” Linda Clary
Clary said since she has gone public about her son's death, several parents have reached out to her to say their own son had a similar experience, but lived.
