 good afternoon everyone thank you for being here. In addition to our NYPD detectives we are joined here this afternoon by Mayor Adams and along with the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his team. Today we are announcing a final apprehension has been made in a long-term investigation into several crimes including two homicides that took place between September of 2021 and August of 2022. In the course of their investigation your NYPD investigators never stopped working to identify those responsible and to bring them to justice. There were numerous victims in this pattern of crimes. They were targeted for robberies and many of the victims are from our LGBTQIA plus community. The NYPD's tireless detectives they led their work led to the apprehension of several suspects not only for the homicides of John Umberger and Julio Ramirez but for the range of other crimes across Manhattan and the Bronx that they are responsible for. On Monday afternoon the final suspect 25-year-old Jake Juan Hamilton was taken into custody without incident. He is being charged in connection with both homicides. This case once again epitomizes the relentless work that the women and men of the NYPD perform each day to keep New York City safe. I want to thank the NYPD detectives of the 7th and 9th Precincts and of the Manhattan North and Manhattan South homicide squads for their detective work and their dedication to this investigation as well as the NYPD's fugitive enforcement unit for their careful and precise efforts to apprehend the suspects in this case. Their work is dangerous and crucial to the safety of this city. Lastly, I want to express the NYPD's appreciation to our partners in the DA's office for working closely with our investigators to build the strongest case possible. I will now turn it over to the chief detectives James Essin. Thank you, Commissioner. Good afternoon. Detectives investigated 17 similar incidents occurring between September 19th, 2021 and August 28th, 2022. Male victims were offered narcotics or marijuana when they were inside or in the vicinity of a bar restaurant in Manhattan. At the victim's home or at the scene, the perpetrators got his phone, transferred money into their accounts and took other property in some instances. There have been two overdose deaths associated with this case, a Julio Ramirez, which occurred on April 21st, 2022 and a John Umbergo, which occurred on May 26th of 2022. In both cases, the medical examiner ruled those homicides on March 3rd of 2023. It listed the cause of death as acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl, beef floral fentanyl, cocaine, lidocaine and ethanol. Investigation in these two homicides revealed that on April 21st, 2022, our victim, Mr. Ramirez, was approached by three perpetrators outside of the rich bar at 369 West 46th Street. All got into a taxi. Our victim was found deceased from a drug overdose. His cell phone was used to make numerous transfers from bank accounts and purchased sneakers from a soul stage sneaker store. On Wednesday, June 1st of 2022, police responded to a wellness check at 34 East 61st Street. Mr. Umbergo was pronounced deceased. Detectives began investigating the fraudulent usage on credit cards, as well as unauthorized cash app transfers from the victim's bank account. In addition, connections were made to incidents with similar fact patterns, including the Ramirez death. Video post incident depicted an individual later identified as Jay Kwan Hamilton utilizing the victim's credit cards to make numerous purchases. Pre incident, the perpetrators are seen entering his residence and post incident, they are seeing leaving the residence in a red derango. That vehicle was rented to a Robert DeMio, who was previously arrested in this investigation. A search warrant was executed on a cell phone recovered from Robert DeMio. Among the results returned with two videos depicting Hamilton and DeMio in the victim's apartment. In another, the victim is seen on the bed, apparently unconscious in the same pose he was later found deceased. A grand jury was convened and on March 23rd, a true, true bill was issued, indicting five members of this crew. Three members, a Jacob Barrasso, male 30 with nine prior arrests, Robert DeMio, a male 34 with four prior arrests and Jay Kwan Hamilton, a male 35 with 12 prior arrests were indicted for the murder of Julio Ramirez. Two members, Jay Kwan Hamilton and Robert DeMio, were indicted for the murder of John Umberga. Barrasco and DeMio surrendered to police last week. Jay Kwan Hamilton was arrested without incident yesterday in front of 241 8th Avenue by the regional task force. All are being charged with murder in the second degree, robbery in the first degree, grand larceny and identity theft. With that, I'd like to turn it over to the district attorney. Thank you so much, chief. Thank you to the police commissioner, chief of detectives, mayor. As you've heard, this was a tremendous collaboration that leads us to this point today. And I also want to thank all the members of the NYPD who worked on this case, as commissioner said, dangerous and crucial work to the safety of our city. I also want to recognize and thank the outstanding members of my team at the Manhattan district attorney's office that worked on this case, including assistant district attorney's Emily Ching, Matthew Lindemuth, Megan Merz and Elizabeth Ferry. I also want to acknowledge Lisa Del Piso, the chief of our trial division and the leadership of trial Bureau 60. Later today, J Kwan Hamilton will be the fifth and final defendant arraigned on a conspiracy indictment related to a series of drugings and robberies, which tragically caused the deaths of two individuals, Julio Ramirez and John Umberger. Hamilton will be arraigned today on murder, robbery, identity theft, grand larceny and conspiracy. Three defendants, J Kwan Hamilton, Robert DeMaio and Jacob Barrasso are charged with the murder of Julio Ramirez. Two other defendants, Hamilton and DeMaio are charged with the murder of John Umberger. All five defendants were each indicted on various counts of robbery and grand larceny, as well as two counts of conspiracy. A sixth defendant, Eddie Ashley, was also previously separately indicted in relation to one of these robbery incidents. The evidence supporting the conspiracy counts demonstrates that the defendants engaged in a concerted and deliberate scheme to harm innocent individuals. Their motive, we allege, was simple, to make money. They approached people leaving bars and nightclubs late at night, engaged them in conversation and offered them illicit and dangerous substances. The defendants use these substances as weapons to incapacitate their victims, giving them an opportunity to steal their phones and credit cards. In the subsequent hours and days after each incident, we allege, the defendants would then use the phones and credit cards to make purchases for themselves. They also sent themselves thousands of dollars in transfers using cash transfer apps from bank accounts and credit card links linked to their victims' phones. The defendants had no regard for whether their victims ever recovered from being drugs, and indeed, as was mentioned, two of their victims never recovered. Julio Ramirez and John Umburger both tragically died as a result of a combination of drugs, including two types of fentanyl. I cannot imagine how painful it is for the families of Mr. Ramirez and Mr. Umburger. My thoughts continue to be with them, and it's my sincere hope that today will bring some solace in the fact that our investigation has now led to these charges. In my conversations with residents and community leaders and elected officials, I know these incidents have provoked a lot of fear. Nobody, nobody should have to worry about their safety and well-being when enjoying Manhattan's vibrant nightlife. And this investigation sends a clear message that we have no tolerance for this type of dangerous and deadly conduct. This team, the partnership between the DA's office and the NYPD, really is on full display here. It took a methodical approach to piece the evidence together in a way that demonstrated the full nature of the conduct that occurred and led to these charges. The results of the investigation are now clear and in these defendants are facing serious murder charges. It speaks to the professionalism and diligence of both the DA's office in the NYPD. Our partnership is hard at work and on display every single day in helping to keep this city safe. And I want to end by encouraging members of the public to come forward if they've been the victim of a similar crime. We have a helpline, 212-335-9040. And we will continue side by side with NYPD to remain vigilant in this and other matters. I now turn it over to the mayor of the city of New York, Mayor Eric Adams. Thank you. Thank you. I thank you. Just really want to commend DA Brack, the police commissioner, the chief and DA your team for really the thoroughness of this investigation. And it's not lost on us. There was a lot of concern because some of the victims in this case were members of the LGBTQ plus community. And I want to commend DA Brack for having a member of his team that's part of the hate crimes to look and see if there was a component that was present and as well as the police commissioner. But this partnership made sure that we could get to the source of this crime and it was clearly rooted in greed, total disregard for the victims, and the investigation allowed us to bring dangerous people off the streets. But we want to send a message to our LGBT community that we understood the trauma that you experienced during this time. And that is why we were very clear that we wanted to investigate any potentiality of a hate crime component to this. And I want to thank both the police commissioner and the DA of ensuring that as they communicated with the various LGBTQ plus communities representatives to send a very clear and loud message. These are dangerous people. And when you see a pattern of using an illegal substance to participate in criminal behavior, it is an aggravating factor that was taken into account. We also want to speak to those responsible nightlife businesses who also assisted here and put the word out to their patrons. You saw New Yorkers come together to participate with our law enforcement apparatus to bring dangerous people to justice. Our hearts goes out to the family of John and Julio. We know how traumatic this could be. We're hoping that these arrests will bring some sense of justice and bring about a conviction of ensuring that the message is loud and clear that those who bring about violence in our city in any level, if it's gun violence or violence through fentanyls or drugs, they're going to seem to receive the same level of aggressiveness to bring them to justice. And that is what we did today. Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you, District Attorney and your teams. Let's start off with Mary Murphy. On topic only. Okay, Mary Murphy. Thanks a lot. Mr. Mayor, we were just coming back to COVID when these crimes were started. And the nightlife was returning to the city. When you saw the pervasive pattern of the robberies and the robberies, were you concerned about people then being afraid to come out? And were there at least 40 robberies that took place along with at least seven deaths? So I'll speak to the first part that we're always concerned when people are feeling unsafe in this city. So whenever we see a pattern of crimes or even crimes anywhere in the city, we want to make sure that we get out to the community that we are addressing it. We as the mayor stated, we coordinate with the businesses in the area, have our liaisons go out to the area and make sure that the community feels as though they have a connection with the commanders and at the borough level with the NYPD. We want to make sure that everyone understands that we are out there to make them safe every single day. And when we do recognize that there are patterns in the city, we will address them. And I think this investigation is evidence of that. We'll go over to Lisa Everts from Fox five. The Iraq, in terms of the conspiracy defendants, are there six or are there seven and is it a murder conspiracy case? How do we characterize that? So there are there are two conspiracies charged in the indictment. And there are if you've got the charging instrument, there are five defendants that were mentioned, Mr. Hamilton to Mayo, Barrasso, butts and hot skins on the indictment return today. And I believe you have the charging instruments. So the the overt acts are laid out as the same. And both in the end since the conspiracy, we've got the last two, I just want to kind of be very specific here, where we've got conspiracy to commit murder. And then I'm sorry, conspiracy to commit the robbery, the class B felony and that and the charging and the discussion of sort of the substance was a dangerous instrument. Is that your question? Yeah. Yeah. So that that is and maybe I can call an 88 shame to sort of go into some more detail about that. To answer your question, there are five defendants who are charged with two counts of conspiracy in the fourth degree. The conspiracy is to commit a class B felony in this case, robbery in the first degree. And specifically to commit forcible rise robbery using a dangerous instrument. The theory in this case being that the dangerous instrument is a dangerous substance. Thank you. All right, we're going to Tony the step on Tuesday. Yeah. So initially, the number of homicides would appear to be this pattern. And given that the deaths of a lecture happened, wanting reckless use of narcotics mixtures. How do we consider this a serial murder case? Well, I think as we stated, while the many members or many victims in this case are part of the LGBTQIA plus community, the motive was robbery. The motive was for monetary gain. And as it stands out in terms of charging this as a serial investigation, I guess I'll turn it over to the DA's office. The mayor and the commissioner also been both very clear on the targeting of the community in the general sense, right? We all know the locations of these crimes. And we've met with the community leaders and stakeholders. And that's why the matter was staffed with expertise from our hate crimes, units and task force. We thoroughly and rigorously reviewed evidence, including looking at things like as we do in all these cases, social media, text messages, things like that. And so there's no evidence of targeting under the law. But that does not undo the sort of trauma that we know. And that's what we've been meeting with stakeholders in neighborhoods and communities. And I would also more broadly mention and credit the mayor and his team for funding our office with $1.7 million last year to increase the capacity of our hate crimes unit. We went from about three assistant district attorneys with trained expertise to about 20. So we investigate all of these matters rigorously, thoroughly looking to see if they should be charged as a hate crime. And here there was no evidence within the four corners of the law, but we still stand with the community and continue to meet and address their concerns. And Thompson, NBC. Thank you. NBC News has spoken with a half dozen men who feel that the NYPD initially ignored their complaints. They were all victims of these kinds of crimes, but they feel they're in place were ignored because they're gay men. This investigation took a long time. Were they ignored because the victims are gay men? Also categorically no to your question. This was a complex investigation that involved a number of different resources in place to make sure that we were able to bring justice to those responsible. We will never discriminate against anyone in this city. They are all part of our communities and we will make sure that we address any concerns that they have. This investigation took a long time, but I think the results speak for themselves that everything was done to make sure we help those accountable who committed these crimes. Mr. Maris, is there anything you want to say to the deputy? It feels that they have not been heard? No, and you in these cases, you have to get it right. And sometimes the desire to get it right collides with the immediate see that people will like to see injustice. The number of times you'll get a call of stating why aren't you making an arrest right now? Even if you have a suspect, you may not have probable cause to actually arrest. If we do a premature indictment or arrest, families won't get the justice they deserve in need. And so we understand clearly anytime you are a victim of a crime, there is a desire to immediately see the issue resolve. But a complex case like this that the DA and the police department methodically went through the evidence and came out on the other side with indictments that is going to now go to trial. We will never be expeditious that is going to endanger allowing guilty people to walk free. And so our hearts goes out to the family. We're going to continue to communicate to the community. But it was about being thorough. So we do not make the mistake of being pre sure and allow dangerous people to stay on the street. Great coffee. You have a post. Commissioner, did you say how many in the LGBT plus community were victims of these crimes? And the drugs was obviously had fentanyl and the two overdoses. But were the drugs similar in the 15 other cases? Did that make it different difficult to conduct all the cases? Or is it just this tragic accident or tragic incident with these two overdoses? No, that's Chief Essex to discuss the investigation. So in terms of the drug overdoses, the two drugs that we know were used for those two were the fentanyl, flora fentanyl, lididine, cocaine. What was the first part of your question? How many members of the LGBT plus community? We know many, if not most war members. We know there were roommates who were also victims when they went back where property was taken from the apartment. We don't know what community they belong to. But many, if not most of the men that were confronted were members of the LGBT community. And then the drugs used in other 15 cases? Or is it similar to the overdoses? Or is it they offered marijuana or other similar narcotics? All right. Julia Papa, Tantan. We've got time for two more. Julia Papa. Chief Essex is there for a second. Do you feel... Do you believe that Mr. Ramirez was even forced to get into the deal with the suspects who were forced to take the drugs and, in the same case, with the Umburgers that he was forced to go back to the apartment so that they could, you know, overdose the evidence? In the Ramirez case, we have video of them entering a taxi. It doesn't appear to be forced. In the Umburgers case, going back to his apartment, we have them going up to the apartment, you know, and leaving the apartment. And that's how we ultimately cracked this case, with the Durango ties it to the Mayo, which the cell phone, and then we get the video. But we don't know if they were forced or coerced, you know, in terms of Umburgers. But Ramirez appears to have gone into the cap willingly. All right. This is going to be our last question. Rock, Paris, Ndolo. Daily News. Chief Essex, Chief Umburg, two-quart question for the accused killers in this ring. Who's the ringleader? How do they know each other? And where does the death of the woman fit in, either to this ring or the other one? Yeah. I mean, wouldn't say there's a ringleader. They all know each other. They're from the Brooklyn. Most of them live on Front Street or Bridge Street over in Brooklyn, while one of our persons live up in Adam Clayton Pall and up in Manhattan. But we think they're friends from Brooklyn. As terms in the Gallagher, that overdose was just ruled a homicide. It's an active investigation. And, you know, that's an active investigation. We took down another case like this in December. And then this one here resulted in two deaths in September, two deaths today. We're announcing. But that that's an active investigation into the Gallagher. All right. Thank you, everyone, for your time and attention. Thank you. Mr. Craig, anything on the field hearing, sir?