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During the unprovoked shooting Suffolk County Paul Kutz, age 52, of East Northport, was killed at the Courtyard by Marriott in the town of Poughkeepsie on Sunday, Oct. 2, while visiting his youngest son at Marist College.
Roy Johnson Jr., the transient, who was found guilty by a jury last year, was sentenced on Monday, June 26 to 58 years to life in prison for the murder, plus another 15 years for criminal possession of a weapon, said Dutchess County Chief Assistant District Attorney, Matthew A. Weishaupt.
“The Kutz family has been devasted in a way that we cannot comprehend nor change, but we hope this sentence will in some small way provide the family with the ability to move forward," Weishaupt said.
A father of three, Kutz was in the lobby of the hotel when Johnson dressed in an Army-green jacket, green boxer-type shorts, and a black balaclava over his head and face approached the front desk clerk and attempted to make his way around it, court records show.
The clerk put his arm out to stop him. He then turned around and walked toward the table seating area near the front door, took out the Glock, and shot Kutz, who was in the area, the documents say.
Kutz was shot in the right side of his chest under his right armpit. The bullet hit the right top lobe of his liver, the part of both lungs, as well as his aorta, and then fractured a rib before exiting out his back, the documents show.
“Due to the egregious facts of this case, as well as the immeasurable loss and trauma inflicted on the victims, my office recommended the maximum penalty allowable under the law," Weishaupt added.
Johnson still faces felony murder and robbery charges in the August 2022 murder of Darren J. Villani in the City of Poughkeepsie.
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