POUGHKEEPSIE – Roy Johnson Jr., the accused “Courtyard Killer,” sat with his attorney on Thursday while hotel employees and law enforcement witnesses told the jury of their experiences on October 2, 2022, at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in the Town of Poughkeepsie. The case is being tried before Dutchess County Court Judge Edward McLoughlin.
The 36-year-old Johnson, a native of the City of Poughkeepsie, is accused of killing Long Island resident Paul Kutz, who was in town to visit with his son for Marist College Family Weekend.
The trial began on Wednesday and the jury heard from Kutz’s widow. The account of her testimony along with the original Mid-Hudson News coverage of the hotel shooting can be found here.
On Thursday afternoon, the jury heard from Town of Poughkeepsie Detective Sergeant Richard Ficilli, who was one of the first to arrive at the scene and was the first incident commander. After checking on the two officers that had originally responded, Ficilli began CPR on Kutz, who was on the floor in a pool of blood. Ficilli administered CPR until he was relieved by Arlington firefighters who responded.
Town of Poughkeepsie Police Officer Joe Lombardi, a K9 officer and member of the SWAT team, was next on the stand and testified that while securing the perimeter of the hotel property, he observed a Glock handgun and extra capacity magazine on the roof of a BMW SUV in the parking lot of the hotel. He maintained the security of the weapon until it was collected by State Police investigators.
Investigator Andrew Simko of the State Police Troop K Forensic Identification Unit followed and told the jury that in addition to the numerous bullets that were fired from inside of the hotel, 22 shell casings from a 9MM firearm were recovered in the parking lot. During questioning by the prosecution, Simko, through evidence pictures, explained to the jury that several bullets had been fired from inside of the hotel and flew out windows and doors, towards Route 9.
In addition to the weapon recovered in the parking lot, Simko explained that a green jacket was found on the pavement in the vicinity of an RF detector device. The detector is used to notify the operator of the presence of wireless signals such as cameras and other surveillance equipment.
