Latest news with #Umberger
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Video depicts man outside McCabe's Bar shooting at man and missing from 3 feet away
Two shootings less than a month apart at McCabe's Bar near downtown DeLand has put the establishment in violation of its lease and it will have to change hours of operation, said police Chief Jason Umberger. Umberger made the statement Tuesday morning during a press conference while giving an update on the latest shooting that occurred outside the bar early Saturday. There were no injuries. The Saturday shooting follows a fatal one that occurred on May 3, when a customer was shot dead inside the bar. "The individuals that own McCabe's Bar have already been served with a notice of violation of lease," Umberger said. "And they are going to be required to change their hours of operation." The Facebook page for McCabe's Bar shows the bar opens Mondays to Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 12 a.m. The bar was open on Tuesday, and an employee who answered the phone said she would relay a reporter's request for comment. It was not immediately known Tuesday what the new hours of business were. Umberger said he also suggested to the bar operators to hire security and screen patrons coming into the bar for firearms in the foreseeable future. "Our primary concern is public safety," Umberger said. "People are concerned about the two incidents at McCabe's Bar. We are, too. We take it very seriously." On Saturday at 2:05 a.m., DeLand police said they responded to a shooting call at McCabe's. Investigators learned that regular patron, Calvin Gilbert, 55, had been drinking with a man in the bar. He bought the man he just met at the bar a beer, police said. At closing time, Gilbert got into an argument with the man and demanded reimbursement. During the confrontation, Gilbert went to his car, retrieved a satchel from which he pulled out a gun and fired it three feet away from the victim's head, Umberger said. In surveillance video released Tuesday, Gilbert can be seen first approaching the victim outside McCabe's Bar, exchanging words and tossing a drink in the victim's face. Gilbert is later seen returning with a gun in his right hand and pointing to the victim with a raised left arm. He walks past two other persons, approaches the victim, raises the gun, and fires. The victim can be seen ducking sideways to avoid getting shot in the head. Gilbert was arrested Sunday in a traffic stop and charged with attempted murder and the use of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol. Three weeks before Saturday's shooting, on May 3, police said Keshod Harris, 32, of DeLand, was struck multiple times in the chest when Avantae Williams, 24, a graduate of DeLand High School and a former college football player with the Miami Hurricanes and Maryland Terrapins, allegedly shot Harris who was jealous over a woman. Umberger said the owners of McCabe's Bar have been cooperative and believed they will comply with the new requirements to stay in business. Umberger said they have also asked the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation to review McCabe's Bar's liquor license. Umberger concluded that people who engage in gun violence will be held accountable. "Individuals who choose to unlawfully carry and use these firearms are ultimately responsible for their actions. We will arrest them and bring them to justice," the chief said. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: DeLand bar shootings puts business under scrutiny
NBC News
24-05-2025
- NBC News
Mother of murdered son in gay bar slayings finds long-awaited peace in sentencing
A mother finally rests Umberger, a former political consultant, moved to New York several weeks before his death for his job at a nonprofit. Although he was relatively new to the city, he quickly developed a list of favorite restaurants he shared with his mom, including Minetta Tavern, the Waverly Inn and Lil' Frankies. Clary marked Wednesday's sentencing at one of her son's favorite spots, the French restuarant La Goulue, surrounded by dozens of his friends and family. The restaurant is located across the street from the Upper East Side townhouse where Umberger lived—and were he tragically died. "John was so excited about taking on New York City. And in some ways, ironically with what happened, even though he is not physically here, he took on New York City and he won. It just cost him his life," she added. Clary said that one of the most challenging moments throughout the last three years was watching surveillance footage shown during the trail of her son leaving a Hell Kitchen's gay bar on the night he died. The footage showed Umberger leaving The Q NYC alone in a car and then returning several minutes later for unknown reasons. He was then seen departing the front of the bar with the men later found guilty for his murder, Hamilton and DeMaio. "There was something that kept drawing John back to the front of that club. It's almost like you want to jump out of the seat and scream 'stop John! Go back home' and it didn't happen," she said. "Seeing how vulnerable he was and by himself. He seemed quite happy to go off with his new friends." Umberger's friends — a diverse group of men and women spanning several generations — described him as a "connector," someone who can light up a room and befriend any stranger. At Wednesday's hearing, Neil Chatterjee, one of Umberger's friends, reflected on Umberger's friendly nature. "You didn't have to kill him, You didn't even have to rob him. If you needed money, he would have given it to you. He would have hung out with you," he said. "Instead you chose to go down the malicious path and now your lives are forever ruined." Clary returned home to North Carolina later this week. She said she plans to visit New York periodically and volunteer her time to the LGBTQ community in the near future. But for now, she will be spending time with her three other adult children, enjoying her new grandchildren and taking care of her 95 year old father, she said. After three years traveling back and forth to New York, pressing local officials and advocating for her son in the media, Clary also plans to rest. "There is no doubt in my mind that I will be together with John again," Clary said. "God is taking a bad, evil thing that happened and making good out of it," she added.
New York Post
22-05-2025
- New York Post
Miranda Devine: Anguished mom gets justice after refusing to stay silent about gang preying on young gay men
It was the almost perfect crime. Hell's Kitchen gay bars wanted to keep it quiet so customers weren't scared away. New York Democrats wanted to keep it quiet to downplay law-and-order issues before a crucial gubernatorial election in November 2022. The cops were already overwhelmed with crime and struggling with the aftermath of COVID and 'Defund the Police' madness. Advertisement But the mother of one of the victims, Linda Clary, refused to be quiet. She knew that there was a gang preying on young gay men in Hell's Kitchen. She didn't want anyone else to die like her son John Umberger, 33, had died in the early hours of May 29, 2022, drugged with fentanyl, his final moments captured by his snickering killers on a 14-second video that sealed their fate. Clary refused to remain silent and came to The Post to warn the gay community of predators on the prowl. Advertisement She was blessed with one detective who joined the dots between her son's murder and the similar unsolved death of Julio Ramirez, 25, who had been found dead in a cab a month earlier after being drugged and robbed. In the end, Detective Randy Rose and his partner, Detective Alex Argiro, cracked the case of the gay-bar 'roofie' killers, interviewed dozens of living victims, and put five of the predators behind bars. Jayqwan Hamilton, 37, Robert Demaio, 36, and Jacob Barroso, 32, were convicted of murder, robbery, burglary, and conspiracy to rob and drug people outside Manhattan nightclubs, which led to the deaths of Umberger and Ramirez. 40-to-life for killers On Wednesday, Hamilton and Demaio were sentenced to 40 years to life while Barroso was sentenced to 20 years to life. Advertisement In March, two other men in the case, Shane Hoskins and Andre Butts, were sentenced to eight years in jail for their roles in the scheme. During the investigation, police realized there was a second criminal gang preying on revelers at bars on the Lower East Side around the same time using similar methods. Prosecutors say Kenwood Allen, who has pleaded not guilty, killed four people in 15 days. He allegedly drugged his victims with fentanyl before stealing their credit cards and leaving them for dead on the street. One of those victims was Lady Gaga's fashion designer Kathryn Gallagher, 35. 'This was a cold and calculated pattern,' said New York Criminal Court Judge Felicia Mennin before handing down the sentences to a courtroom packed with the victims' family and friends Wednesday. 'I pity your lack of humanity and empathy for your fellow human beings.' Advertisement As Clary sat in court surrounded by friends, she felt gratitude. The trial had been an ordeal, with the video of her son dying shown to the jury along with a longer video of the killers toasting each other as they celebrated in the Upper East Side townhouse Umberger had just moved into to begin his new life in New York. The gregarious Washington, DC, political consultant had last used his credit card that night at the Q NYC, a multistory gay nightclub on Eighth Avenue. His body was not found for four days. This photo provided by Linda Clary shows her son John Umberger at a rooftop bar in New York, on May 27, 2022. AP As excruciating as it was to watch her son die on screen, she says the video '100% made an impact on the jury . . . Just the depraved indifference to human life . . . To snicker, toast and laugh and not skip a beat before they went out to buy tennis shoes . . . They kept it on their phones, fortunately, and it was used as evidence. They had no shame.' She wanted to get into the witness box Wednesday and explain what John meant to her, the four days of silence after he went missing, and the silence she lives with now. But she choked up and instead read aloud excerpts of some of the myriad victim impact statements his friends and family had lodged with the court. 'It was truly a beautiful thing but so tragic,' she said. These were some of the tributes to John and reproaches to his killers given to the court: 'John was the kind of person who actually lit up a room,' said family friend Tracy Coll West. 'He dripped with optimism, goodness and the kind of love that comes straight from God. I don't mean that figuratively, he had a light around him that you could actually see . . . At his funeral, his mother mentioned that she had found thank you letters that John had written to God.' Advertisement John's biological father, Alick Campbell, who flew in from the UK: 'I will say this, only because his mother may not feel able to mention it. In all my 60 years — I have never met a son who was more dutiful or loving of his mother than John was. He would call her most days — he was always there for her — in moments of joy and especially when life threw it difficulties in her way. He was her rock and gave her as solid a love as any human is capable of — which leaves such an unfathomable hole.' 'Uncaring. Unmoved' Eolene Boyd, John's godmother, said: 'No mother should have to think about their child, their larger-than-life first-born, being left to die. Alone. Without those who loved him to be with him as he breathed his last. Instead, surrounded by people robbing him of his life and belongings and dignity. Uncaring. Unmoved by another person's plight and struggle to continue to live. This callousness is unfathomable to me.' Joanna Dematatis, a friend from childhood: 'These callous men took from the world a bright, innocent life, someone who devoted himself to encouraging others, lifting them up, and leading with heart. For what? A Gucci bag? A pair of Nikes? Their senseless greed and lack of humanity is sickening.' John's best friend, Lauren Doyle: 'The men with him could have called 911 — but instead they used their phones to film John dying. I don't have the words to describe how difficult it was to watch my friend turn blue, unable to breathe, unable to move — completely helpless . . . The extreme disregard for life and utter lack of empathy shown to John in his last moments were shocking. Advertisement 'And yet, had John not suffered as he did, I strongly believe we wouldn't be sitting here today contemplating justice for this case. Gay men were being hunted for sport, and it wasn't until John's death that detectives and prosecutors began to connect the dots. His murder exposed a pattern of violence that had gone unnoticed for far too long.' It's true that without the perseverance of his mother and Detective Rose, the predators would have continued their evil game, and other people likely would have died. The system worked this time.
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.
