Murder of a father at Marist College: robbery suspect previously threatened to shoot a man in the face

FIRST ON FOX: The ex-con accused of shooting the father of a Marist College student to death at a Courtyard Marriott in upstate New York had a history of murder.

According to authorities, Roy Johnson, 35, was detained on Sunday for the murder of accountant and father of three Paul Kutz in the hotel lobby in Poughkeepsie where both men were staying.

Johnson, who was 19 at the time, and an accomplice broke into Amin Hinson’s home in broad daylight during a violent robbery in December 2005, according to court documents. They then pointed a silver handgun at Michael Jones’ head.

If you don’t stop talking, I’ll murder you. Johnson made a threat.

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Photos show Paul Kutz with his family in an image from 2013.

Jones, who was 23 at the time, escaped by making a run for it. A struggle broke out between Hinson and his brother, who had hurried downstairs to assist, and Johnson and his accomplice, who were both armed. Before the cops came, shots were exchanged during the altercation.

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According to the documents, Hinson needed 25 staples since he was bleeding heavily from his head, but no one was killed.

Police vehicles outside the Courtyard by Marriott seen on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, where a Paul Kutz was shot and killed on Sunday.

According to court documents, Johnson admitted guilt to first-degree burglary in April 2006 for the botched ambush and received an eight-year term. At the time of the plea, he still had three additional cases pending.

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After evading a traffic stop, nearly running over an officer, and barreling through backyards of houses to get away, he ended up back in jail in 2016.

Records reveal that after he was back on the main road, he sped past a red light, colliding with a pickup truck and injuring three people before running away on foot. He received a year in prison after being found guilty of reckless endangerment and driving while intoxicated.

Roy Johnson Jr.'s mugshot from 2020 arrest on gun and drug dealing in Fulton County, Georgia.

He was charged with a new offense on April 24, 2020, in Fulton County, Georgia, for allegedly distributing cocaine, marijuana, and having a gun while committing a felony. He was also issued a warrant for skipping a court appearance on July 12, 2020.

Johnson was in Poughkeepsie on August 9 of the next month when Darren Villani, 28, was fatally shot inside of his automobile.

Johnson’s ten-year crime spree appears to have come to an end on Sunday with the murder of Kutz at the Courtyard Marriott, which happened around four miles from Marist College.

According to NBC4 New York, Johnson smoked a “PCP-like substance” in his room with Devin Taylor, 26, before going to have a coffee in the lobby and getting into a fight with hotel staff.

General views of Dutchess County Jail in Poughkeepsie, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022.

Kutz, who was in town for a Family Weekend event at his son’s college campus, was shot by Johnson at around 7:30 a.m.

Johnson did not know Kutz, according to Poughkeepsie Police Chief Joseph Cavaliere, who described the death as a “random act” at a press conference on Monday.

At the scene, Johnson and Taylor were taken into custody. Having been charged with second-degree murder and possessing weapons, Johnson is being jailed without bail.

Split image shows mugshot photos for Roy Johnson Jr. and Devin Taylor, the men accused in the Oct. 2, 2022, shooting in Poughkeepsie, New York.

For carrying a loaded firearm without a serial number, Taylor is charged with two counts of weapon possession and is being jailed on a $1 million bond, according to court documents.