Three men accused of drugging and robbing gay men in Manhattan are on trial.
Prosecutors say Jayqwan Hamilton, Jacob Barroso, and Robert DeMaio orchestrated a scheme outside clubs.
Assistant District Attorney Emily Ching said, they were “waiting in the wings to target” victims and, “all they wanted was to come up on a jackpot." They then "left their victims unconscious and not breathing," she said.
Investigators say their actions led to five robberies that impacted five different men. Two men -- 25-year-old Julio Ramirez and 33-year-old John Umberger -- died as part of the alleged scheme.
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From March 2021 through July 2022, the defendants preyed on people they saw alone simply trying to enjoy Manhattan’s night life, investigators said.
The defendants allegedly gave the victims drugs, including fentanyl and cocaine. Once the victims were disoriented, the defendants stole their phones and then drained their accounts, going on shopping sprees, prosecutors said.
The defense contends the state can't prove the allegations.
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"The way it was described it was cut and dry. We all know the world is not that way," Dean Vigliano, DeMaio’s attorney said.
David Krauss, Barroso’s attorney told the jurors, "You make serious charges like this you have to come up with proof, you can't make assumptions.”
By early afternoon, the first witness, a survivor, was on the stand.
The witness said two of the defendants came to his hotel, and afterwards he woke up groggy. He testified, "I was very disoriented and I had a numb empty feeling I had not experienced before.”
He also said he realized he no longer had his two phones and there were thousands of dollars of unauthorized charges on his accounts.
John Umberger’s mother who was in court for opening later testified at the trial. She described her son as her best friend.
She got worried in May 2022 after she had not heard from her son in 4 days. She asked the police to do a wellness check.
"I did learn from another officer that they had found John and John was dead," she said.
The prosecution says it will prove its case with video, text messages and social media posts.
There were two other defendants in the case, Shane Hoskins and Andre Butts, who both previously pleaded guilty, according to the district attorney's office.
Hoskins pleaded to attempted robbery in the first degree and Butts pleaded to robbery in the first degree. They both got a promised sentence of eight years, the D.A.'s office said.
This latest trial could last a few weeks.