Suspect in Marist dad’s fatal hotel shooting was wanted in recent murder: report

[The Bobster]

Suspect in Marist dad’s fatal hotel shooting was wanted in recent murder: report

The man who allegedly shot dead Long Island dad Paul Kutz during Family Weekend at upstate Marist College was a key suspect in a recent murder case — as well as a fugitive wanted on gun and d…

nypost.com

Suspect in Marist dad’s fatal hotel shooting was wanted in recent murder: report​

By
Yaron Steinbuch


October 5, 2022 8:13am
Updated

Roy Johnson Jr. was being investigated as a key suspect in a gang-related murder.

​

The man who allegedly shot Long Island dad Paul Kutz dead during Family Weekend at upstate Marist College was reportedly a key suspect in a recent murder case — as well as a fugitive wanted on gun and drug charges.
Roy Johnson, 35, who is charged with murder in the death of the father of three at a Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Poughkeepsie, was issued an arrest warrant in July by the sheriff’s office in Fulton County, Georgia, after he allegedly skipped court, WNBC reported.
Johnson had been scheduled to appear on felony gun and cocaine-dealing charges.
The following month, the suspect was investigated in the Poughkeepsie area as a key suspect in a gang-related murder, law enforcement sources told the news outlet.
Authorities wanted to arrest Johnson, but the district attorney and others allegedly wanted to wait for DNA and fingerprint evidence to come back, leaving him free to wander the streets for several months, WNBC reported, citing multiple sources.
Meanwhile, it was unclear why officials did not act on the warrant issued by the Fulton County sheriff’s office during the investigation, the outlet said.
Paul Kutz was in the hotel lobby getting ready to check out when he was killed.Facebook/Nathalie Kutz Paul Kuts was staying at the hotel for Family Weekend at Marist College.Facebook/Nathalie Kutz
“There may absolutely be a good reason why the arrest wasn’t made, but as a result of not effecting that arrest, there was a loss of life,” Wilbur Chapman, the former NYPD chief of patrol, told WNBC.
“So there has to be an explanation as to why the arrest was not effected,” he added.
The Town of Poughkeepsie told the station that its police force was unaware of the warrant until after Johnson was arrested in the Sunday shooting.


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Authorities wanted to arrest Roy Johnson Jr. for the previous murder but the district attorney and others allegedly wanted to wait for DNA and fingerprint evidence. Dutchess County Jail

Devin Taylor was charged with two counts of weapons possession in the Marriott shooting. Dutchess County Jail



It added that police did not have any open homicide or robbery investigations with Johnson or Devin Taylor, who was also arrested in the Marriott shooting and charged with two counts of weapons possession.


Town of Poughkeepsie police Lt. Jason Burger told WNBC that “the last date of contact for our department with Johnson was in 2019, prior to the issuance of the warrant.”


A rep for the City of Poughkeepsie police, which is separate from the town, told the outlet that the August murder remains under investigation.

A bullet hole in a hotel window.John Buscek Police revealed that they found bomb-making materials and a “ghost gun” rifle in the suspects’ room.Jeff Crianza
The Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office and the county sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to WNBC’s calls and emails on Tuesday.


Meanwhile, cops previously revealed that they later found bomb-making materials and a “ghost gun” rifle in the suspects’ room at the Poughkeepsie hotel.




Kutz was in the hotel lobby just grabbing a cup of coffee and getting ready to check out when he was killed, horrified neighbors told The Post on Tuesday.


“He went up for parents’ weekend. That’s how it happened, he went to the lobby to get coffee, to check out. Wrong place, wrong time,” Ken Farrell, the next-door neighbor of the slain dad, said from his East Northport home.

 

[The Bobster]

Witness to murder of Marist College dad Paul Kutz reveals chilling details in $50M suit against hotel

Tina Martirano said hotel workers laughed at the accused killer’s erratic behavior — and then abandoned guests — moments before the suspect opened fire, according to her suit.

nypost.com

Witness to murder of Marist College dad Paul Kutz reveals chilling details in $50M suit against hotel​

By
Jorge Fitz-Gibbon


November 20, 2022 1:15pm
Updated















A Long Island woman who witnessed last month’s fatal shooting of Marist College dad Paul Kutz at a Poughkeepsie Marriott is suing the hotel for $50 million — as she revealed chilling new details about the slaughter.
Tina Martirano of Suffolk County said in her lawsuit that she was sharing her morning coffee with Kutz, who she had met with his wife at the hotel gym, right before his Oct. 2 murder.
Martirano, also a Marist parent there for the school’s Family Weekend, said hotel workers laughed at the accused killer’s erratic behavior — and then abandoned guests — moments before the suspect opened fire, according to her suit.
“During [her and Kutz’s] conversation, Tina noticed a commotion in the lobby,” said the court document, which claims Martirano suffered “extreme emotional distress” from the ordeal.
“Defendant [Roy] Johnson suddenly emerged from the corridor leading to the first-floor rooms with both hands deep into his pockets, wearing only underpants under his trench coat, a ski mask and was shouting profanities.”
Martirano said Johnson “then proceeded to roam around the lobby, interacting with Marriott personnel, all of whom appeared to know him and laugh off the visibly erratic behavior.
Paul Kutz was shot and killed at the Courtyard by Marriott in Poughkeepsie on Oct. 2.Marriot
“Unlike Marriott personnel, Tina and Paul were alarmed by Defendant Johnson’s behavior, and Tina motioned to several Marriott personnel to stop laughing at Johnson,” the suit said. “Moments later, Defendant Johnson pulled out a gun and began waving it in the air while shouting furiously.
“Thereafter, everyone in the lobby, including Marriott personnel, fled for safety, leaving Tina and Paul behind.”
She said she and Kutz, 53, were “trapped” between the exit doors and where they were sitting as Johnson walked up to the pair waving his gun — and that she warned her acquaintance not to talk to the suspect or even look him in the eyes.
“Tina feared that if Paul made verbal contact with Defendant Johnson he would start firing, so she told Paul to avoid eye contact,” the lawsuit said. “Defendant Johnson then raised his arm, brandished the gun, and before Paul could even attempt to calm him down, Johnson opened fire on Paul.”
Paul Kutz, 53, was visiting his son at Marist College when he was shot and killed.Facebook/Chris Capalbo
Martirano said in her suit that she watched Kutz fall from his chair and die.
Kutz was an accountant from East Northport, LI, and married dad of three. He was wearing a Marist College t-shirt when killed.
Authorities have only said Johnson opened fire after getting into an argument with hotel staff.
Police have since charged Johnson, 35, as well as his accused cohort, Devin Taylor, who cops said got rid of the gun.
Martirano said in her suit that the entire incident left her with “disabling” psychological damage.
Roy Johnson, 35, is charged with murder in Paul Kutz’s death.Robert Miller Devon Taylor is accused of getting rid of the gun that Johnson allegedly used.Robert Miller
“She is unable to cope, function as a member of society, or return to her place of employment,” her suit said.
She alleged that the defendants failed to provide “reasonably adequate” security for guests, among other things.



The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, names the hotel as well as the property owners, the management company at the site and the two defendants in the shooting.


Johnson and Taylor both pleaded not guilty at their arraignments last month.