Poughkeepsie hotel shooting of East Northport dad Paul Kutz detailed in court papers

New details emerged from court papers released this week by prosecutors in the case of an East Northport father of three shot in the lobby of a Poughkeepsie hotel on Oct. 2 during a Marist College family weekend by an assailant he had never met.

But while the papers, the Bill of Particulars released by Dutchess County prosecutors, chronicle how Paul J. Kutz, 53, was shot during a rampage by a man armed with a semi-automatic weapon, they still do not explain why. 

That morning, about 7:30 a.m., a “cursing and yelling” defendant, his face hidden under a black balaclava, was blocked by a desk clerk from making his way around the Marriott hotel's front desk. He then turned and walked toward the seating area by the front doors, where he fired his semi-automatic Glock 17 at Kutz, a Great Neck-based accountant, who died within minutes, the papers say.

The shooter, Roy A. Johnson, 35, staying at the Courtyard by Marriott with another defendant, Devin Taylor, 26, “continued to fire numerous rounds in the hotel lobby,” the court records said, before going outside and firing another 22 rounds.

Johnson's gun, prosecutors said, was outfitted with a fixed pin, turning it into a fully automatic weapon.

Outside the hotel, Johnson, clad in boxer-type shorts, then took off his “Army green colored jacket” and balaclava and placed them, along with an electronic detection device, in the parking lot. 

Extracting the magazine from the Glock, Johnson placed the weapon and the magazine on top of a black BMW SUV parked in the hotel lot — and reentered the hotel, where he was arrested, the court papers say. 

“Manuals related to the making of explosive devices, as well as materials with the potential to be used as explosives” — but not explosive devices — were later found by police searching the men’s hotel room, officials said.

Also found in the hotel room was Tannerite, an explosive used in target practice that is made by mixing two materials together, and a plastic bag containing “a green leafy substance and a white colored pill,” prosecutors said.

That room was rented on Oct. 1 for Taylor by an individual prosecutors did not name. The second defendant was captured by a female police officer after a chase that began in the hotel courtyard.

The defendants, who were staying at the hotel after traveling from Georgia, were represented by public defenders, who did not return a call.

Johnson was charged with two felonies: second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, charging papers said. He was held without bail.

A spokeswoman for the Kutz family said they had "no comment at this time." The Kutz family previously thanked supporters and asked for their privacy to be respected.

The court papers detailed how Taylor, the second defendant, initially complied with a female officer who ordered him to get on the ground in the parking lot, then fled, but ultimately surrendered after a chase.

Taylor also was charged with felony criminal possession of a weapon. He was held at the Dutchess County jail with his bail set at $500,000 in cash, a $1 million bond or $5 million partially secured

A search of Room 143 uncovered a number of weapons, including a flash bang grenade and a smoke bomb, prosecutors said.

An AR-15 style rifle — that had no serial number but that was stamped “We the People” — was found, along with a guitar case that had been modified to hold it.

Rounds of ammunition, magazines, parts of rifles, including a firearm scope, a knife and three “improvised” munitions handbooks also were found.