A reputed member of a deadly drug-and-rob crew that left two Manhattan clubgoers dead was nabbed after cops found gruesome videos of one victim’s body on his cellphone, sources said.
The grisly discovery tied Robert Demaio, 34, to the drugging death of political consultant John Umberger last year in what cops said was a pattern of more than a dozen similar robberies in the Big Apple, according to the sources.
Cops executed a search warrant on Demaio’s cell phone and discovered videos of him and another suspect in Umberger’s apartment, the sources said.
One of the videos shows Umberger lying in bed face up and apparently unconscious. Umberger was lying in the same position when he was discovered dead by first responders.
Demaio, who was indicted on murder and robbery charges last month, surrendered to police at the NYPD’s 5th Precinct stationhouse in Chinatown on Monday, two days after another alleged robbery crew member, 30-year-old Jacob Barroso, turned himself in.
Police are still looking for another suspect in the drug-induced slayings, Jayqwan Hamilton, 35.
Jacob Barroso (left), Jayqwan Hamilton (center) and Robert Demaio are charged with murder and robbery in the drug-induced deaths of two Manhattan clubgoers last year. DCPIDemaio, Barroso and another alleged member of the gang, Andre Butts, were arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday.
“The defendant and others approached intoxicated individuals exiting bars and nightclubs,” Manhattan prosecutor Emily Chang said of Demaio.
“Those targeted victims would be offered a substance that was promoted as cocaine and the intoxication by these drugs resulted in the victims becoming incapacitated,” Chang said. “The incapacitation led to the death of two individuals.”
The drugs were actually laced with fentanyl and other drugs, she said.
John Umberger was found dead from a lethal overdose days after he was seen partying at The Q NYC gay nightclub in Hell’s Kitchen last year, according to police. APDemaio and Barroso were ordered held without bail by Judge Angela Badamo. Betts, who is charged with a robbery in June, was ordered held on $100,000 cash bail or a $150,000 bond.
Another member of the crew, Shane Hoskins, was arrested Thursday and is being held at Rikers Island on $50,000 cash bail or a $100,000 bond.
The crew is charged in the deaths of Umberger, 33, and Julio Ramirez, 25, a social worker from Brooklyn, who were fed lethal cocktails while praying at gay clubs in Hell’s Kitchen in separate incidents last year — among 17 drug-induced robberies linked to a larger gang.
Julio Ramirez, 25, was found dead from an overdose in a cab on the Lower East Side last year after attending the Ritz Bar and Lounge on West 46th Street last year.
The crew is alleged to have stolen thousands of dollars from their victims’ bank accounts after befriending them at Big Apple party spots and knocking them out with a cocktail of drugs.
Umberger, a political consultant from Washington, DC, was found on the fifth floor of an Upper East Side townhouse four days after he disappeared from The Q NYC gay nightclub on Eighth Avenue on May 28, 2022.
Police traced subsequent purchases made with Umberger’s credit cards and linked his death to similar robbery patterns in Manhattan, according to sources.
When Demaio was arrested on grand larceny charges in a separate case in July, investigators allegedly discovered cell phone videos of Demaio and Hamilton inside Umberger’s apartment — with the victim seen lying face up and unconscious, sources said.
Ramirez was seen at The Ritz Bar and Lounge the night he died.
Umberger’s death has been ruled a homicide due to “acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl, b-flourofentatnyl, cocaine, lidocane and ethanol.”
Hamilton and Demaio were indicted on murder charges by a Manhattan grand jury in the deaths of Umberger and Ramirez, while Barroso was also charged in Ramirez’s death.
Barroso surrendered to police on Saturday and was led out of the 9th Precinct stationhouse in handcuffs on Monday and is awaiting sentencing.
Ramirez, a social worker, was found dead in the back of a cab on the Lower East Side after he was seen partying at The Ritz Bar and Lounge on West 46th Street on April 21.
Robert Demaio was linked to the death of John Umberger last year after cops found photos on his cellphone showing the dying victim found face-down in his apartment.
“Our entire city continues to mourn the tragic losses of Mr. Ramirez and Mr. Umberger,” Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
“In addition to the unimaginable pain their family and loved ones are during, I know that many other New Yorkers have feared for their own safety when out experiencing New York’s vibrant nightlife,” Bragg said.
Ramirez’s family declined to comment after Monday’s arraignments.
Meanwhile, Barroso’s uncle was arrested in the courtroom after causing an outburst, getting into a shouting match with court officers after he objected to the victim’s relatives being allowed to leave the room first.
Cops are also investigating a separate robbery crew that is blamed for the drugging death last year of fashion designer Katie Gallagher, whose resume includes singer Lady Gaga.
Gallagher, 35, was found dead in her Lower East Side apartment in July after being fed a lethal dose, with her death ruled a homicide, according to police.
Detectives believe Gallagher’s death is connected to another robbery crew linked to at least 26 drug-and-rob attacks, and have identified Kenwood Allen, a 33-year-old career criminal, as a person of interest in the designer’s death, police sources said.
Allen — who has 17 busts on his rap sheet — is already charged in the March 18, 2022, death of Nurbo Shera at a club on Seventh Street, and the death of Ardijan Berisha at 52 Ludlow St. on July 30, Essig said.
