2 men face murder, weapons charges for deadly shooting of father visiting Marist College for family weekend
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- Two men arrested after police said a father visiting his child for family weekend at Marist College was shot and killed inside a nearby hotel were arraigned in court Monday.
Police are trying to figure out what led to the deadly shooting at the Courtyard Marriott in Poughkeepsie, CBS2's Alecia Reid reported.
During a news conference Monday, Police Chief Joseph Cavalier said officers responded within minutes of the 911 call Sunday and caught a man running to the hotel.
"They put themselves in danger and took these people in custody, because this situation, it could've been a lot worse," said Cavalier.
According to police, the suspects had a room at the hotel. They did not know the victim, but are believed to be part of a gang that shot the wrong person.
Police said the first suspect, Devin Taylor, tossed a gun from his fanny pack that was later found. A second gun was located in the room he was staying in, along with a manual and bomb-making materials to go with it, according to authorities.
"In that room there was no explosive device of any type found, but there were components found. We will continue to look into that and we will continue to move forward with all aspects of the investigation as it relates to what happened," said Chief Assistant District Attorney Matthew Weishaupt.
Police said the state's bomb squad secured the items and took them away safely for evaluation.
Another man, Roy Johnson Jr., was arrested in a hallway at the hotel. Johnson, 35, has two prior felonies and faces charges of second degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. He was denied bail.
Taylor, 26, has one prior felony and was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. His bond was set at $1million for $500,000 cash bail.
Both men are homeless. It was not immediately clear how long they were at the hotel for.
"We will leave no resources unturned. We will spare no resource to bring those involved in this to accountability," said Weishaupt.
Law enforcement officials said there were no ties between the suspects and victim, whose name has not been released by police.
The Marriott remains a crime scene and is temporarily closed. The hotel is a little more than four miles from the Marist campus. Locals told CBS2 it's frequently filled with guests visiting the college.
"We will continue to answer the call and protect the nearly 300,000 residents of Dutchess County, said Sheriff Kirk Imperati.
Weishaupt said the case will move to a grand jury next week. Johnson and Taylor are due back in court on Friday.
Police said they were waiting on an amended search warrant to gather additional evidence from the suspects' hotel room. They're working with federal partners, including the ATF.
