In Baltimore's gay bars the prevalence of roofi is beg bated - The Baltimore Banner

Contents:

• IS THERE A GROWG RISK OF BEG ‘ROOFIED’ AT A GAY BAR?
• DGGGS, DEATHS AND ROBBERI PUT NEW YORK’S GAY COMMUNY ON EDGE
• SIX GANG MEMBERS WHO PREYED ON MEN AT NYC GAY CLUBS DICTED FOR DGGG, MURRG 2
• IS THERE A GAY ROOFIE DATE RAPE EPIMIC?
• ‘ROOFIE ROBBER’ SPREE TURNS ADLY AS 2 KILLED NYC DGGG ATTACKS ON GAY MEN
• NYPD IS VTIGATG A STRG OF ASSLTS POTENTIALLY LKED TO ATHS OF 2 GAY MEN
• NYC: SIX GANG MEMBERS INDICTED THE “ROOFIE” MURRS OF NYC GAY MEN
• NYC: SIX GANG MEMBERS INDICTED THE “ROOFIE” MURRS OF NYC GAY MEN
• IS THERE A GAY ROOFIE DATE RAPE EPIMIC?

IS THERE A GROWG RISK OF BEG ‘ROOFIED’ AT A GAY BAR?

The first time was at a popular gay bar Baltimore. But such actns have been lked to sexual asslts and robberi other ci, and advot and some Baltimore-area patrons say the problem is Pri Center of Maryland has been trackg dggg reports at gay bars for the past year. The group said that based on 1, 200 surveys, 11% of rponnts have reported beg dgged gay center’s director, Cleo Manago, lls this “an epimic wag to happen.

”Natnally, drk-spikg at gay bars has ma news wh a strg of high-profile New York Cy, a slew of aths that were once treated as isolated dg overdos by LGBTQ members are now beg vtigated by the Police Department’s homici un for a nnectn to dggg attacks and robberi. Distributn of the ks followed reports om dividuals feelg they may have been dgged at entertament venu Wt Hollywood — cludg the famed gay bar The Up for AlertsGet notified of need-to-know om The BannerVerna Sever, the LGBTQ+ liaison officer for the Baltimore Police Department, directed qutns to the agency’s public rmatn office. Ldsey Eldridge, a spokwoman for the Baltimore Cy Police Department, said the agency has not received any reports and do not have any statistics or plats about cints of dggg at gay bars.

Complitg the discsn is the fact that many of the dgs ed to spike drks, like GHB and ketame, are also recreatnal dgs nsumed by gay partygoers.

DGGGS, DEATHS AND ROBBERI PUT NEW YORK’S GAY COMMUNY ON EDGE

Some may fear prosecutn associated wh dg “are apprehensive to report , or they didn’t want people to know that they had anythg [of value] to steal, ” he said, which uld make them future often the crime is occurrg is subject to Baltimore-area gay bars and clubs, where there is often an expectatn that bartenrs will make strong drks (lled the “gay pour”), some bar owners and managers say that patrons unfaiar wh the heavy-hand serve will get more toxited than ual and attribute to beg Gay, owner of The Manor, the tablishment where Huffman is employed, said that while he believ that patrons are roofied at gay bars, he also spects that other factors are at play some s. ”Gay, who has lived Miami and Fort Lrdale, Florida and said he has never been roofied, add that he would like to see bars obtag tt strip ks siar to those beg distributed Los Leon’s, which claims to be one of the natn’s olst ntually operated gay bars, staff members there were also skeptil of the claims of wispread dgggs Wallace, general manager at Leon’s, spects that a batn of alhol and marijuana e n rult someone feelg like they have been dgged. He don’t thk ’s prevalent gay bars.

SIX GANG MEMBERS WHO PREYED ON MEN AT NYC GAY CLUBS DICTED FOR DGGG, MURRG 2

And most recently, he was dgged seven months ago a gay bar Baltimore.

(Kal Newman for The Baltimore Banner)Kaya Visn, 28, believ he was roofied early December while out at a gay bar. “That’s sry to me, ” Visn 30-somethg gay bar patron who cled to be intified said that the possibily of gettg dgged is terrifyg. AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTAt first, the men’s aths were treated as overdos, until tens of thoands of dollars were found draed om their bank Umberger was seen leavg the Q nightclub Manhattan, his mother Moon for The New York TimJul Ramirez died the back seat of a taxi April after he left a popular gay bar Manhattan wh a group of men.

IS THERE A GAY ROOFIE DATE RAPE EPIMIC?

They stole his wallet, phone and ID before they abandoned his body the r wh a distrsed month later, John Umberger was found ad an Upper East Si townhoe after he and a group of men left another popular gay bar jt three blocks om the last place Mr. Muny at first regard the aths as isolated dg overdos: men who partied too hard, quotidian tragedi a gay nightlife scene that has roared back to life as the ronavis panmic has the men’s fai soon disvered somethg more sister: Cred rds the men’s nam were maxed out and their bank acunts draed of tens of thoands of dollars.

Muny, which emerged om the panmic to the jaws of a monkeypox outbreak, a landspe of stgglg and sometim shuttered bars and an creasgly hostile natnal polil have also spread fear and mor, while startg a broar nversatn about siar attacks that have quietly plagued the cy’s gay nightlife for years.

Umberger were targeted bee they were gay, and they have not said if they believe the men’s aths and other nonfatal attacks are men who said they were dgged have stggled to nvce the police they were the victims of a crime and not jt irrponsible partygoers who took someone home and blacked Alarn, 33, said he was dgged at the Rz March 2020. Umberger, The Tim has spoken to five men who said they were dgged at gay bars the cy — cludg the Eagle, the Boiler Room and the 9th Avenue Saloon — and then robbed. It is also ed recreatnally by some the gay Burt, 27, was robbed of more than $25, 000 after he was dgged at the Boiler Room the East Village last December.

‘ROOFIE ROBBER’ SPREE TURNS ADLY AS 2 KILLED NYC DGGG ATTACKS ON GAY MEN

ImageCouncilman Erik Bottcher reprents much of the cy’s gay heartland Hell’s Kchen, Chelsea and the Wt Moon for The New York TimGay bars hold a special place L. Councilman Erik Bottcher — who reprents much of the cy’s gay heartland Hell’s Kchen, Chelsea and the Wt Village — lled “a goln age of nightlife.

People of “groomg” children, a homophobic trope that nflat homosexualy wh pedophilia.

NYPD IS VTIGATG A STRG OF ASSLTS POTENTIALLY LKED TO ATHS OF 2 GAY MEN

Bar Colorado addn, many gay bars are or near Midtown Manhattan, which has been transformed by panmic-era enomic llapse and acts of high-profile street crime.

More about Liam StackA versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 16 of the New York edn wh the headle: Dgggs, Deaths and Robberi Put Cy’s Gay Communy on Edge. "They target their victims leavg bars, offerg dgs some s, then eher through force or when the victim pass out, they remove jewelry, money, high-end watch and phon om their victims, " Jam Essig, NYPD chief of tectiv, said at a prs briefg announcg the was officially charged wh two unts of send-gree murr, three unts of first-gree robbery, two unts of third-gree crimal posssn of a ntrolled substance, two unts of send-gree robbery, and two unts of send-gree unsolved murrs of two gay men spected of fallg prey to the same crew ma headl last month when the mother of one of the victims, Lda Clary, acced Manhattan district attorney Alv Bragg of draggg his feet brgg the murrers of her son, John Umberger, to jtice. Word needs to get out, pecially the gay muny, that they are targetg gay men, " Clary told the NY Post last month, later addg, "This same group of killers have dgged, robbed, and murred untls young gay men New York.

C., was dgged, robbed, and killed after a night visg gay bars Hell's Kchen on May 28. Another gay man, Brooklyn social worker Jul Ramirez, 25, was found ad the back of a taxi after he was dgged and robbed the area on April 21.

NYC: SIX GANG MEMBERS INDICTED THE “ROOFIE” MURRS OF NYC GAY MEN

While at least two of the victims were gay, Essig said Allen and his alleged nspirators were opportunistic and did not target gay men bee of their sexual inti. "We don't particularly thk that they're targetg gay members, " Essig said at the prs briefg. 6 members of a gang that preyed on gay men at Hell's Kchen nightclubs have been dicted over the "roofie" murrs of John Umberger and Jul Ramirez.

Six members of a gang that preyed on gay men at Hell’s Kchen nightclubs have been dicted over the “roofie” murrs of John Umberger and Jul Ramirez last year.

NYC: SIX GANG MEMBERS INDICTED THE “ROOFIE” MURRS OF NYC GAY MEN

Both men were victims of homicis ed by “dg-facilated thefts, ” after leavg the Q NYC and Rz Bar and Lounge gay nightclubs, the ME found. Rose realized a gang was operatg Hell’s Kchen gay clubs, dggg victims and g sh apps on their phon to steal tens of thoands of dollars om their bank acunts.

Umberger, a Washgton, DC, polil nsultant, disappeared on Saturday, May 28, 2022, after a night out at The Q NYC, a gay nightclub at 795 Eighth Ave, while visg New York for work. An hour earlier he had been ptured by a secury mera wh three unintified men leavg the Rz Bar and Lounge, a gay club on Wt 46th Street, two blocks om Q NYC.

It is believed their drks were spiked wh the 'date-rape' dg GHB before the victims were taken elsewhere and least one of the victims was drkg a mastream pub when he was targeted, but the others were approached gay Rhos, chief executive of the Roofie Foundatn, a chary for victims of dg-rape, said: 'Men are the victim 10 to 15 per cent of s reported to . Used recreatnally by many club ers, is spected to have been ed the n eventually leave the victims unnsc and wh such severe memory loss they have no memory of what has happened to is often portrayed as a crime agast women only and s are rarely reported by gay men. Keh Cowen, muny safety spokperson for the gay rights chary Outright Stland, said: 'This is a huge problem for every one.

IS THERE A GAY ROOFIE DATE RAPE EPIMIC?

We spoke to people at sexual health clics and they are tellg happens all the time - among heterosexuals and among gay people. 'Police Edburgh, where the most recent attacks took place, have a mpaign over the ftive perd warng people of the risk of dg-rape that will reach to all risk areas, cludg gay will also be rmatn on how to report cints to enurage people to e forward. 'Police London timate that one 10 men fail to report rap, as opposed to one five Edburgh, police chiefs have arrangements to allow the victims of homophobic attacks to report the remote reportg system agenci such as Gay Men's Health and the Lothian Gay and Lbian Swchboard so that dividuals feel fortable givg rmatn on of the problems Rhos pots to raisg awarens is a lack of willgns of large pub and club chas to offer fancial support to mpaigns.

Two separate gangs were apparently preyg on both straight and gay club-goers Manhattan, om the Lower East Si to Hell’s Kchen, for months — dggg and then robbg them via their phon — before beme clear was a pattern, some of the victims’ parents told The Post. Six members of one gang who preyed on gay men at Hell’s Kchen nightclubs were dicted last week for the so-lled “roofie” murrs of John Umberger, 33, and Jul Ramirez, 25, last year.