Criminal indictments have been handed down against six gang members responsible for the deaths of two men drugged with a deadly fentanyl cocktail and robbed last year, law enforcement sources said Saturday.
Arrest warrants were issued after a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday filed murder indictments against three of the gang members. All six are facing robbery, grand larceny and conspiracy charges, a source with knowledge of the case said.
Detectives linked all six suspects to the deaths of Julio Ramirez and John Umberger, who were targeted after leaving gay nightspots in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen last year, police said.
“It was an answer to our prayers and we are grateful,” Umberger’s mother Linda Clary told the Daily News. “But the streets are still not safe as these are life-long criminals.”
Ramirez and Umberger were among at least seven people who died from overdoses after crooks gave them narcotics laced with fentanyl and other deadly drugs, police said.
On Friday, renowned Lower East Side fashion designer Kathryn Marie Gallagher, who died last July, was added to the list of city residents who died from drug overdoses given to them by crooks who then robbed. Further details on Gallagher’s case were not immediately disclosed.
It was not clear if the six who killed Ramirez and Umberger are linked to Gallagher’s death. It’s suspected that another robbery crew using a similar MO could be responsible, sources said.
The city Medical Examiner determined earlier this month that Ramirez, 25, and Umberger, 33, died from “acute intoxication” from a mix of fentanyl, cocaine, ethanol and other drugs. Both men were victims of homicides caused by “drug-facilitated thefts,” a spokeswoman for the city’s Medical Examiner said.
Umberger, a Washington, D.C. resident and political consultant, was found dead June 1 in an Upper East Side apartment where he had been staying. He died after visiting Q, a Hell’s Kitchen nightclub. Authorities initially considered Umberger’s death a mere drug overdose — but changed their minds later, compelled partly by the discovery that money was taken from his accounts.
Ramirez, a Brooklyn resident employed as a social worker, was found unconscious in the back seat of a taxi on the Lower East Side early on April 21 after he’d visited the Ritz Bar and Lounge on W. 46th St.
Police said at least 16 people, mostly men, were drugged and robbed in Manhattan between Sept. 19, 2021 and Aug. 14. Roughly half of them overdosed on the powerful, toxic drugs.
The thieves target the victims as they leave Manhattan bars and are offered either drugs or drug-laced cigarettes.
When the victim falls unconscious from the drugs, the thieves take their cell phones. They then use the cash transfer apps on the victims’ phones to empty out their accounts.
“This is based solely on monetary gain,” NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said in November as he warned people of the robbery scam. Several different crews are responsible for the thefts, but all pretty much use the same methods, he said.
Although she had died on July 24, the city Medical Examiner determined this week that Gallagher, whose A-list clients included Lady Gaga, model Chrissy Teigen and actress Laverne Cox, died of “acute intoxication” from a mix of fentanyl, cocaine, and ethanol — the same drugs that killed Umberger and Ramirez.
The Pennsylvania native was working on a Fall 2022 collection when she died, and was “an internationally-recognized fashion designer,” according to her online obituary.
“For the past eight months, we have been proactively working with the NYPD, NYC Office of Medical Examiner, and Manhattan District Attorney to get answers about Katie’s sudden death,” Gallagher’s family said in a statement Friday. “We realize that the news released today, while difficult, is a necessary next step toward seeking justice for Katie, which is our primary goal.
“Sharing this news helps us set the record straight, demand accountability, and grieve more openly,” the family said. “We are grateful for any developments that help us move forward, focus on Katie’s life and legacy, and bring more awareness to fentanyl and similar drugs being used as weapons against innocent people.”
As of November, four suspects have been arrested in these narcotic-assisted robberies, police said, though no arrests have been made in the deaths of Umberger, Ramirez and Gallagher.