Latest news with #TheQ
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
3 men sentenced for murder in NYC gay bar drugging scheme
Three men were sentenced on Wednesday to decades in prison for their roles in the drugging and robbery of patrons at New York City gay bars that ultimately led to the overdose deaths of two victims. Jacob Barroso, 32, Jayqwan Hamilton, 37, and Robert DeMaio, 36, were found guilty in February of committing murder, robbery and conspiracy for the scheme that sent shockwaves through the city's LGBTQ community. During the 15-month spree — which lasted from March 2021 to June 2022 — Julio Ramirez, a 25-year-old social worker, and John Umberger, a 33-year-old political consultant, were killed after being given fentanyl-laced drugs. Ramirez was left unresponsive in the back of a taxi after being targeted by the trio outside The Ritz Bar and Lounge in Hell's Kitchen. He was eventually taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Umberger was found dead in an Upper East Side apartment, days after he met Hamilton and DeMaio outside The Q, a Hell's Kitchen nightclub that has since closed. The city's medical examiner ruled both men had ingested a fatal mix of fentanyl, lidocaine and cocaine. During the trial, prosecutors said the crew lurked outside the nightclubs to exploit intoxicated patrons, befriending them before offering them drugs that rendered them unconscious. After knocking out their victims, they used facial recognition technology to unlock their phones, then proceeded to drain their bank accounts and use payment apps to make thousands of dollars in purchases. All three of the defendants were convicted of murdering Ramirez, while only Hamilton and DeMaio were convicted in Umberger's death. On Wednesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Hamilton and DeMaio had been sentenced to 40 years-to-life in state prison. Barroso was hit with 20 years-to-life. 'They left both men to die as they used their financial accounts to purchase clothes and sneakers, never once showing concern about the deadly consequences of their actions,' Bragg said in a statement. 'We will never be able to undo the tragic losses of Mr. Ramirez and Mr. Umberger, but I hope these significant prison sentences can provide some closure to their loved ones.' Attorneys for all three men said their clients intend to appeal their convictions. Three other conspirators, Eddie Ashley, Shane Hoskins and Andre Butts, were previously arrested and reached plea deals in connection with the scheme. The death of fashion designer Kathryn Marie Gallagher under similar circumstances in 2022 was eventually ruled a homicide and led police to suspect a second drugging-and-robbery crew was targeting the Lower East Side. So far, only one man, Kenwood Allen, has been charged in relation to Gallagher's case. He was ultimately charged in a drugging spree that led to the deaths of five people.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
3 men sentenced for murder in NYC gay bar drugging scheme
Three men were sentenced on Wednesday to decades in prison for their roles in the drugging and robbery of patrons at New York City gay bars that ultimately led to the overdose deaths of two victims. Jacob Barroso, 32, Jayqwan Hamilton, 37, and Robert DeMaio, 36, were found guilty in February of committing murder, robbery and conspiracy for the scheme that sent shockwaves through the city's LGBTQ community. During the 15-month spree — which lasted from March 2021 to June 2022 — Julio Ramirez, a 25-year-old social worker, and John Umberger, a 33-year-old political consultant, were killed after being given fentanyl-laced drugs. Ramirez was left unresponsive in the back of a taxi after being targeted by the trio outside The Ritz Bar and Lounge in Hell's Kitchen. He was eventually taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Umberger was found dead in an Upper East Side apartment, days after he met Hamilton and DeMaio outside The Q, a Hell's Kitchen nightclub that has since closed. The city's medical examiner ruled both men had ingested a fatal mix of fentanyl, lidocaine and cocaine. During the trial, prosecutors said the crew lurked outside the nightclubs to exploit intoxicated patrons, befriending them before offering them drugs that rendered them unconscious. After knocking out their victims, they used facial recognition technology to unlock their phones, then proceeded to drain their bank accounts and use payment apps to make thousands of dollars in purchases. All three of the defendants were convicted of murdering Ramirez, while only Hamilton and DeMaio were convicted in Umberger's death. On Wednesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Hamilton and DeMaio had been sentenced to 40 years-to-life in state prison. Barroso was hit with 20 years-to-life. 'They left both men to die as they used their financial accounts to purchase clothes and sneakers, never once showing concern about the deadly consequences of their actions,' Bragg said in a statement. 'We will never be able to undo the tragic losses of Mr. Ramirez and Mr. Umberger, but I hope these significant prison sentences can provide some closure to their loved ones.' Attorneys for all three men said their clients intend to appeal their convictions. Three other conspirators, Eddie Ashley, Shane Hoskins and Andre Butts, were previously arrested and reached plea deals in connection with the scheme. The death of fashion designer Kathryn Marie Gallagher under similar circumstances in 2022 was eventually ruled a homicide and led police to suspect a second drugging-and-robbery crew was targeting the Lower East Side. So far, only one man, Kenwood Allen, has been charged in relation to Gallagher's case. He was ultimately charged in a drugging spree that led to the deaths of five people.
Sydney Morning Herald
09-05-2025
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
Dogs of death: Egyptian burial chambers reveal animals sacrificed in their millions
Prompted by this, as well as hieroglyphics and imagery of Anubis on mummy cases, Hartley has been invited to Brisbane at the weekend to deliver a ticketed public lecture titled Hounds of Ancient Egypt. Hartley said burial practices in pre-dynastic Egypt showed an early breed of greyhound was valued as a hunter and a guard animal for autonomous communities clustered along the Nile. 'The first documented burial that I found in my research comes from just after 4000BC, and that's a lovely burial of a human in a little wooden coffin, in which you can still see the remains of this little dog had been placed at the foot of the coffin,' she said. 'And about 3500 or 3200BC, you start to see cemeteries being made, and this is when you start to see dogs placed in them at the north, at the south, at the east, and at the west. 'The dogs protected flocks, or they protected communities, and they wanted to continue this in the afterlife.' The problem for dogs began, Hartley said, around the funerary practices during the Late Period, about 640BC, as religious practices that had been available only to the elites became available to the masses. 'When we opened the burial chambers the chambers were absolutely chock-a-block full, from the floor to the ceiling, with dog bones.' 'You get this vast increase in people wanting to buy a dog, a votive dog, and place it in the temple.' Hartley's research suggests priests would breed and sell dogs (usually common mixed-breed dogs) to worshippers expressly as votive offerings. 'As soon as you have a moneymaking thing, you get people who are prepared to do horrible things to animals, for the sake of money,' she said. Hartley's lecture on Saturday is recommended for history buffs older than 16. 'Hopefully, it won't be a talk that'll make people dreary and miserable,' Hartley said. Following the lecture, an independent adoption agency, Love a Greyhound, will bring half a dozen dogs available to adopt for a meet and greet in the Museum's Dinosaur Garden. The fact that greyhounds were popular many thousands of years ago is startling, given debates around greyhound racing in Queensland. The official opening of the new 'home of Queensland greyhound racing', The Q in Ipswich, is scheduled for June 8, but animal welfare group the Coalition for Greyhound Protection alleges that five greyhounds have already died at the facility. The industry has been under a spotlight since a 2015 Four Corners report that revealed practices such as live baiting and euthanasia for retired racing dogs.
The Age
09-05-2025
- General
- The Age
Dogs of death: Egyptian burial chambers reveal animals sacrificed in their millions
Prompted by this, as well as hieroglyphics and imagery of Anubis on mummy cases, Hartley has been invited to Brisbane at the weekend to deliver a ticketed public lecture titled Hounds of Ancient Egypt. Hartley said burial practices in pre-dynastic Egypt showed an early breed of greyhound was valued as a hunter and a guard animal for autonomous communities clustered along the Nile. 'The first documented burial that I found in my research comes from just after 4000BC, and that's a lovely burial of a human in a little wooden coffin, in which you can still see the remains of this little dog had been placed at the foot of the coffin,' she said. 'And about 3500 or 3200BC, you start to see cemeteries being made, and this is when you start to see dogs placed in them at the north, at the south, at the east, and at the west. 'The dogs protected flocks, or they protected communities, and they wanted to continue this in the afterlife.' The problem for dogs began, Hartley said, around the funerary practices during the Late Period, about 640BC, as religious practices that had been available only to the elites became available to the masses. 'When we opened the burial chambers the chambers were absolutely chock-a-block full, from the floor to the ceiling, with dog bones.' 'You get this vast increase in people wanting to buy a dog, a votive dog, and place it in the temple.' Hartley's research suggests priests would breed and sell dogs (usually common mixed-breed dogs) to worshippers expressly as votive offerings. 'As soon as you have a moneymaking thing, you get people who are prepared to do horrible things to animals, for the sake of money,' she said. Hartley's lecture on Saturday is recommended for history buffs older than 16. 'Hopefully, it won't be a talk that'll make people dreary and miserable,' Hartley said. Following the lecture, an independent adoption agency, Love a Greyhound, will bring half a dozen dogs available to adopt for a meet and greet in the Museum's Dinosaur Garden. The fact that greyhounds were popular many thousands of years ago is startling, given debates around greyhound racing in Queensland. The official opening of the new 'home of Queensland greyhound racing', The Q in Ipswich, is scheduled for June 8, but animal welfare group the Coalition for Greyhound Protection alleges that five greyhounds have already died at the facility. The industry has been under a spotlight since a 2015 Four Corners report that revealed practices such as live baiting and euthanasia for retired racing dogs.
NBC Sports
06-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Nathan Franks' PGA Tour debut could end Sunday; NCAA regionals starts the next morning ... 3,000 miles away
Nathan Franks still doesn't know quite how he's going to pull this off. Back on March 3, Franks won The Q, an 18-hole qualifier consisting of aspiring professional golfers and golf influencers, to earn a spot in this week's Myrtle Beach Classic. The result was kept secret until Monday, but for about two months, Franks, a senior at South Carolina, has known his PGA Tour debut would run right up against NCAA regionals. Last week, Franks and his Gamecock teammates found out that they'll be the fourth seed at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Washington, which is over 3,000 miles from the Dunes Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, where the Tour event will be played Thursday-Sunday. If Franks makes the cut and opts to complete 72 holes, he'll miss the practice round for the May 12-14 regional and will have to book it to the Pacific Northwest in time for Monday morning's tee time. 'Still trying to work that out,' Franks said Tuesday. 'Coach is working on it. He told me to play and we'll figure it out.' Surely Franks will need a private jet. He will also require some energy. Franks currently sits No. 24 in PGA Tour University. With Nos. 11-25 after the NCAA Championship earning PGA Tour Americas status, Franks could lock up a full summer in Canada with a strong seven days of golf. Usually a man of few words, Franks, who is ranked No. 76 individually in the national collegiate rankings, didn't know how he was selected for The Q, but he's glad he was and took advantage. 'Looking forward to get a chance to compete against some of the best players in the world and see where I am and where I need to get better,' Franks said. '… Just going out there and playing as good as I can; see where that ends up.'
