Suspect indicted in NYC gay bar druggings, robberies
NEW YORK CITY - Officials are releasing more information about a suspect who prosecutors said is connected to a series of druggings and robberies at New York City gay bars.
According to prosecutors, Shane Hoskins faces charges that include robbery and identity theft.
Hoskins is connected to a group that would drug and rob men who would visit gay bars in the city, investigators said, which resulted in two fatal overdoses.
His bail was set at around $50,000.
John Umberger, 33, was at The Q NYC, a popular gay nightclub in Hell's Kitchen, last Memorial Day weekend. He was last seen leaving with two men. Two days later, his body was found in an apartment on the Upper East Side.
Umberger's phone and credit cards were stolen and more than $25,000 was drained from his bank account.
John Umberger, 33, was found dead after going to a gay club in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood.
His mother, Linda Clary, spoke out about his death.
Clary said her son was targeted because he was gay. That is the same claim a friend of Julio Ramirez made last April.
Ramirez died in an eerily similar manner a month before Umberger.
Julio Ramirez was found dead in the back of a taxi after going to a gay nightclub in Manhattan.
He was found dead in the back of a taxi an hour after he was seen leaving The Ritz, a gay club two blocks from The Q NYC.
Ramirez's phone and credit cards were gone and about $20,000 was missing from his accounts.
Clary said since she has gone public about her son's death, several parents have reached out to her to say their own son had a similar experience, but lived.