POUGHKEEPSIE – Roy Johnson Jr., the 35-year-old man accused of killing a man in the Courtyard by Marriott hotel on October 2, 2022, is being arraigned on felony murder and weapons charges on Friday morning. Dutchess County District Attorney Bill Grady says that Johnson used an illegally modified handgun to kill 53-year-old Paul Kutz.
According to Grady, the crime occurred at approximately 7:29 a.m. when Johnson, a guest at the hotel, entered the lobby with a Glock 9mm handgun that had been modified to fire as a fully automatic weapon. He was wearing a coat, and shorts, and had a balaclava covering his head and face when he began cursing and yelling in the lobby area, near the coffee service area.
Johnson allegedly approached the front desk and attempted to get to the employee side of the counter when the clerk put his arm in the way, preventing Johnson from gaining access.
After being turned away, Johnson is said to have walked toward the lobby seating area, pulled out the pistol, and began shooting. Kutz, who was in the vicinity, sustained a gunshot wound to the right side of his chest, under his armpit. The bullet caused substantial internal damage and the victim died within minutes, despite life-saving efforts by first responders.
After shooting Kutz, Johnson fired several more rounds in the lobby before exiting the lobby where he fired an additional 22 rounds in the parking lot of the hotel.
After the gunfire, Johnson removed his jacket and balaclava and placed them in the parking lot, along with an electronic detector device. He then removed the magazine from the Glock and placed both the gun and magazine on the roof of a car in the parking lot before walking back into the hotel.
Once inside, Johnson was located by a responding officer and taken into custody.
Johnson will be arraigned on the felonies of murder and criminal possession of a weapon on Friday morning before Dutchess County Court Judge Edward McLoughlin. His co-defendant, Devin Taylor will be arraigned during the same appearance on three felony weapons charges.
