The two men in custody in connection with the Poughkeepsie Hotel shooting that killed a relative of a Marist College student on Sunday are being investigated for a prior robbery and murder, three law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the investigation said Monday.
Sources identified the two as Roy Johnson Jr. and Devin Taylor. Johnson is believed to be the shooter at the Courtyard Marriott and has been charged with murder; Both men face criminal weapons charges. Details about that earlier case were not immediately available, but authorities said each has at least one prior felony conviction.
Earlier, a senior law enforcement official said the suspected shooter had a Glock switch on his gun that made it fully automatic. That gun, which took the life of an innocent bystander, sources said, is believed to have been found on the roof of his car, and a second weapon, an apparent ghost rifle, was discovered in the bedroom the two men shared. .
Suspect
Roy Johnson Jr. and Devin Taylor, suspects in the deadly shooting at a hotel in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Investigators said the gun used in the shooting had a 30-round magazine in it, which was empty when it was recovered in the parking lot. It is believed that more than two dozen shots were fired inside and outside the hotel.
Glock switches are illegal and essentially turn semi-automatic pistols into fully functional automatics that federal law classifies as machine guns. The suspected shooter also had in his possession a 30-round high-capacity magazine, the official said.
A search warrant was being executed overnight and was expected to cover his vehicle, which investigators believed may contain Tannerite, which is used in long-range target practice and explodes on impact, according to the senior official. police.
This is the ghost rifle found in the room, a senior police official says.
It’s unclear why Tannerite might have been in the vehicle, or what he might have had to do with another firearm, flashbangs and materials “used to make explosives” that the official said were found in Tanner’s hotel room. the.
Investigation
According to the investigation, led by Poughkeepsie and state police along with the county sheriff and district attorney’s office, the shooter had gone down to the hotel lobby for coffee on Sunday and argued with some hotel staff and others. He pulled out the gun and fired, killing the victim in what the chief has called “a random act.”
The senior law enforcement official had said Johnson and Taylor were in a hotel room smoking a PCP-like substance earlier. Johnson was remanded in custody without bond and Taylor was remanded in custody on $1,000,000 bond. They are scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
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Chaos unfolded over the course of several hours at the Marriott on South Road, with officers first responding to the scene at 7:30 a.m. to receive reports of a shooting and discovery in the hotel room later in the investigation.
Manuals related to the manufacture of explosive devices were also found in the room, Police Chief Joseph Cavaliere said.
The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting police and the district attorney’s office in the investigation. State police also responded, although authorities stressed there was no active threat to the public.
Shooting
The shooting occurred in the middle of Marist’s “Family Weekend,” where students and families were invited to participate in three days of activities, including a football game, tailgating and a picnic on the boardwalk. .
Marist College acknowledged the tragedy in an email to students on Sunday.
“This morning we were made aware by authorities of the tragic and fatal shooting of a family member of a Marist student at a local hotel several miles from campus,” the university wrote. “Our deepest condolences to the family, and we are offering the full support of the Marist community.”
President Kevin Weinman did not identify the victim.
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