Paul Kutz, a 53-year-old male, was visiting his son at Marist College for the parents' weekend in October 2022. On the morning of October 2nd, Kutz was in the lobby of the Courtyard by Marriott in Poughkeepsie when an altercation broke out that did not involve him. A man who had been staying at the hotel began arguing with hotel employees and started firing a gun. Kutz, an innocent bystander, was struck by a stray bullet and killed.
The shooting was described by authorities as a random and unprovoked act.
Two homeless men, Roy Johnson Jr. and Devin Taylor, were arrested at the scene. Johnson was identified as the shooter and was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Taylor was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. Investigators found materials for making explosive devices and manuals in the hotel room the two men shared. It was later revealed that Johnson was a fugitive with an outstanding warrant from another state.
In May 2023, Roy Johnson Jr. was convicted of second-degree murder, three counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, one count of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and first-degree reckless endangerment. He was acquitted of an attempted murder charge related to a hotel employee. The following month, Johnson was sentenced to 58 ½ years to life in prison. At the time of the hotel shooting, both Johnson and Taylor were also being looked at in connection with a separate, earlier homicide in Poughkeepsie.
Devin Taylor pleaded guilty in March 2023 to a felony weapons charge related to the hotel incident. He also pleaded guilty to the unrelated murder of another man that had occurred in August 2022. For the unrelated murder, he was sentenced to 22 years to life in prison, and for the weapons charge from the hotel incident, he received a concurrent sentence of seven years in prison with five years of post-release supervision.
