John Umberger and Julio Ramirez.Photo: John Umberger Instagram; Julio Ramirez Facebook
At least two men are dead amid a suspected rash of druggings and robberies in New York City’s LGBTQ nightlife scene.
An NYPD spokesperson says in a statement to PEOPLE that authorities are working with multiple agencies “to investigate several incidents where individuals have been victims of either robberies or assault. Some of the victims are members of the LGBTQIA+ community, however it is believed that not all of the victims are. It is also believed that the motivation for these assault/robberies is monetary gain.”
“The deaths of John Umberger and Julio Ramirez are currently under investigation and the medical examiner will determine their causes of death,” the NYPD statement adds.
Ramirez, a social worker,went out with a friendin the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan on April 20, NBC News reported. After making what would be their final stop of the night at the Ritz Bar and Lounge, Ramirez was seen on surveillance footage getting in a cab with three men at 3:17 a.m.
Ritz Bar and Lounge in Hell’s Kitchen.Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
“Nobody thought it was a crime initially, they had just thought he had taken something,” Julio’s older brother Carlos Ramirez told theTimes. “I knew somebody had given him something and he did not know they had.”
Carlos also told NBC that he visited Julio’s apartment three days after his death and discovered that his sibling’s iCloud password had been changed and his checking and savings accounts depleted of approximately $20,000.
Umberger’s mother Linda Clarymade a connection to Ramirez’s deathafter her son was found dead on June 1, WPIX reported in November. His death occurred four days after he visited The Q NYC while visiting from Washington, D.C., where he worked as a political consultant.
Surveillance footage at the East Side townhouse where he was staying showed Umberger sitting in the back of a cab with three men, before two of them escorted him inside. The unidentified pair returned to the cab less than an hour later.
Also similar to Ramirez’s death, Clary said that her son’s phone was stolen and his wallet cleared of his debit cards, credit cards and diver’s license.
According to theTimes, police told Clary that her son was robbed on the street before he overdosed at home, but she later saw that more than $20,000 was withdrawn from his accounts.
The NYPD opened a homicide investigation into both deaths after Clary made the trip from Georgia to N.Y.C. with her findings. She noted to WPIX that a third possible victim could be linked after a married man visiting from out of town was found dead between the time of her son and Ramirez’s deaths.
NYPD.getty
Meanwhile, at least five men have reported similar experiences. Oscar Alarcon, 33, told theTimesthat he woke up on the floor of a Midtown hotel in March without any memory of how he got there following a night out at the Ritz.
He later filed a police report after realizing $2,000 had been transferred from his account. “At that time, they didn’t seem like they were interested,” Alarcon said.
Tyler Burt, 27, alleged that he faced the same skepticism after he told police that he believed he was drugged at the Boiler Room last December and woke up with $25,000 missing from his account.
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“They asked me if I had been assaulted, and I was like, ‘Getting drugged is assault,'” Burt told theTimes. “It seemed like they thought being drugged wasn’t even a possibility. They said, ‘Maybe you were but that isn’t really relevant to the robbery.'”
NYPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Alarcon and Burt’s claims.
Since Ramirez and Umberger’s death, New York City Council member Erik Bottcher and volunteers have passed out flyers in Hell’s Kitchen, notifying gay men of the suspected druggings and warning them to be “extra vigilant.”
source: people.com
