Prosecutors said that one of the suspects in a series of drug-facilitated robberies committed against gay men visiting New York City bars, which resulted in two deaths, was arraigned Thursday on felony charges.
Shane Hoskins was linked by prosecutors to the group of men accused of causing the deaths of Julio Ramirez, John Umberger. He was charged with two counts each of grand larceny, and one count identity theft. According to an indictment, he was accused of drugging and then stealing $500 from two individuals in April 2022.
According to the indictment, Hoskins (31), and four other unidentified conspirators were accused of creating a scheme where Hoskins and their co-conspirators approached intoxicated individuals outside bars and nightclubs in Manhattan and engaged them in conversation before offering them drugs “for causing their incapacitation”.
Hoskins and his co-conspirators then stole their victims’ credit cards and cellphones, and used the information and physical cards stored on the phones to make purchases and transfer money to themselves, according to the indictment.
Indictment claims that Hoskins attempted to use his stolen credit card and phone to purchase items, including at a Brooklyn deli.
Hoskins was arrested in August, but he was re-arrested Thursday on more serious charges. His bail was set at $50,000. He was also charged for robbery, conspiracy. His defense attorney, and the New York County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
NBC News reported that a 21 year-old student at New York University was robbed after leaving a Hell’s Kitchen LGBTQ bar called The Q. Umberger was last seen at this bar before his death. According to the father of the student, his son and his friend believed they were drugged after leaving the bar with three men they just met.
The father stated that his son had lost his phone, had his bank accounts emptied with cash apps and had his credit cards maxed out. According to the father of the student, he believes that his son was used by the attackers to unlock his iPhone and bank account using Face ID.
According to a source familiar with the case, Hoskins is alleged to be involved in the robbery. According to records, Hoskins was also arrested in August in connection to an incident that occurred on April 8, when the NYU student was robbed.
Two law enforcement officers stated Wednesday that a Manhattan Grand Jury has indicted many unidentified suspects in the murders of Umberger, Ramirez. Officials did not say how many people were charged with murder, but they said that all were indicted for robbery in a case that involved 17 victims.
Officials claimed that the suspects were targeting victims to make money and not because they were gay. They added that the New York City Police Department Hate Crime Task Force is helping with the investigation.
Ramirez and Umberger were both found dead following their visit to gay bars in the city’s Hell’s Kitchen area last spring. Family members claim that Umberger and Ramirez had been seen leaving the bars with at most one other person before their bank accounts were emptied of thousands of dollars using facial access to their phones. Nearly a year since they were found dead, the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office ruled their deaths as “homicidescaused via a drug-facilitated theft.” They had multiple drugs in their system, including fentanyl and lidocaine.
In the months that followed their deaths, more gay New Yorkers came forward with eerily identical accounts. NBC News spoke with gay men who reported that they had survived similar events between December 2021 and October.
Wednesday’s confirmation by the medical examiner’s office that it is looking into “several more deaths in similar circumstances” as Umberger and Ramirez was made public. However, it is not clear if the victims were gay men who died after visiting gay bars, or if they were related to the indicted suspects.
A spokesperson for the medical examiner stated that they could not comment further on the ongoing criminal investigation.
