GUILDERLAND — Albany Detective Jack Grogan’s heart raced as he spoke, in a calming voice, to Jason Kutey. Over a hundred police officers and paramedics swarmed the usually tranquil McKownville neighborhood. Grogan bottled his own fears, he said, as he handled the delicate situation.

Kutey was holding his ex-girlfriend hostage with an assault rifle in her new boyfriend’s home last Thursday. Grogan slowly gained his trust, he said.

After two hours, relief washed over Grogan as, separately, both Kutey and his ex-girlfriend emerged from the Woodscape Drive home, both physically unharmed.

Kutey, 28, did not fire the three or four rounds of ammunition he had; he surrendered to police.

Grogan didn’t think Kutey was a threat to his 19-year-old ex-girlfriend, he said. Grogan actually had to convince her to leave the house, because she was worried Kutey would kill himself, Grogan said.

Grogan spoke to her on the phone and convinced her to come outside. About 10 minutes later, he convinced Kutey to come out, too.

During the dramatic exchange Kutey had with Grogan, Kutey revealed that he just wanted someone to listen, the detective said.
"They broke up and he couldn’t handle it," Grogan told The Enterprise. Kutey was arrested last month in Colonie for kidnapping the same ex-girlfriend and was due in court last Thursday for charges from that incident.

According to Colonie Police Lieutenant John Van Alstyne, Kutey, in May, had handcuffed himself to his ex-girlfriend and driven her to Lake Placid. He took her, Van Alstyne said, because he wanted to be back in a relationship with her.

The next day, the ex-girlfriend was able to convince Kutey to bring her back to her car, which had been left in the Latham Farms parking lot in Latham, Van Alstyne said. She was then able to use a cell phone to call police, he said; she was not assaulted or physically injured then, he said.

Last Thursday, Kutey told Grogan over the phone that reports of that arrest were not accurate. Kutey was frustrated that no one was listening to him, Grogan said.
"I said to him, ‘You’re not making it look any better,’" Grogan told The Enterprise.

Grogan was eventually able to convince Kutey to surrender to police. The Latham man will be formally charged Friday by Guilderland Police, an investigator said.

Police are withholding the name of the woman who was held hostage.

Securing the scene

Just before 5 p.m. last Thursday, a woman called the Guilderland Police and said that, in an upstairs bedroom, a man with a rifle was holding a female — his ex-girlfriend — hostage, Guilderland Chief James Murley told The Enterprise.

The caller, and possibly a few others, were in the home, at 211 Woodscape Drive, and were able to get out to call police, Murley said. Kutey barged into the home, where the ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend lives, Grogan said.

Guilderland Police immediately called Albany, Colonie, and State Police. Those agencies have tactical teams and hostage negotiators; they were set up outside the home.

Woodscape Drive is in a suburban McKownville neighborhood in the most eastern part of town, near the city of Albany.

Ambulances and paramedics also came to the scene, ready to deal with any medical problems and University at Albany Police helped to close the road. A total of 106 officers and paramedics came to the scene, Murley said.

Nearby houses were then evacuated, Murley said. Residents were escorted out by officers, he said.
"It was for their safety," he said. "We didn’t know what could happen."

Some neighbors were upset and concerned, Murley said. While they wanted to know exactly what was happening, police were trying to gather the facts themselves and separate rumors from facts.
"Some officers weren’t privy to all the information, so we kept it as a need-to-know type of thing," Murley said.
"When you bring that many resources into an area that was experiencing peace and tranquillity moments earlier, it’s a jolt to say the least," Murley said. "I remember one lady had to be escorted back into her home to shut her stove off. She forgot she left it on when she was escorted out."

Guilderland Police were making arrangements to take evacuated neighbors to the McKownville Fire Department, but that wasn’t necessary. People found their own places to go, Murley said.

Negotiations

Police negotiators were then able to call Kutey. He stayed on the line for two hours, speaking with Grogan, Murley said.
"That was a good sign," he said.
"When we got there, he [Kutey] was in a situation he believed he couldn’t get out of," said Grogan. "By taking her hostage, his situation got more difficult."

Kutey, Grogan reported, told him why he took his ex-girlfriend hostage: He wanted to be heard.

Kutey said reports about the circumstances of his May arrest for kidnapping weren’t true, Grogan told The Enterprise. Kutey was agitated at first, Grogan said.
"He felt that, since the prior incident, no one was listening to him," Grogan said. "My job as a negotiator was to listen, to assess the situation. I brought it from a high level to a medium level to a low one."

Grogan kept Kutey talking by asking him questions. Negotiators must get as much information from a suspect as they can, he said.

Grogan found out that Kutey had an AR-15 assault rifle, with three or four loaded clips of ammunition.
Asked if Kutey was threatening to shoot his ex-girlfriend, Grogan said, "I don’t think it was that extreme...He still cares for her. The problem was they broke up and he couldn’t handle that. I don’t think he held the gun to her head."

The couple was in an upstairs bedroom, Grogan said. Kutey had barricaded the front door of the house and its stairway with furniture, such as heavy dressers, Grogan said.

Relatives of both Kutey and the ex-girlfriend came to the scene, Murley said. Every television station was near the property; one station showed Kutey’s mother talking to him by phone, Murley said.
"We asked them not to do that," he said. "It was upsetting him, to see it live."

Kutey’s mother did help to calm her son, Grogan said.

The ex-girlfriend was extremely emotional, Grogan said, and he was able to get Kutey to calm her. Later, she didn’t want to leave Kutey, for fear he would kill himself, Grogan said.

Grogan has been a hostage negotiator for 12 years. He and three other Albany officers were trained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Colonie Police, too, have a hostage-crisis team that helped last Thursday.
"There’s no doubt the adrenaline is pumping," Grogan said of negotiating. "Our job is the safety of the hostage. When they walk out, it’s a relief."

Grogan has negotiated 50 to 75 cases in the past 12 years, he said.
"This was one of the big ones," he said. "When someone is talking suicide, you have to be careful what you say....You have to gain their trust and then start asking questions."

Now in custody

Last Thursday morning, Kutey was scheduled to appear in Albany County Court on felony kidnapping charges from the May 18 arrest. When he didn’t arrive at court, a warrant was put out for his arrest.

It turned out that Kutey was in Guilderland. After Grogan got Kutey to come outside, he was turned over to Colonie Police for additional charges related to missing his court hearing. He was remanded to Albany County jail without bail.

This week, Guilderland Police have been discussing their own charges against Kutey with the Albany County District Attorney’s Office, Murley said. The charges will most likely be kidnapping, burglary, and weapons charges, he said.

Wednesday, Guilderland Investigator Emanuel Shulman said that Kutey had been indicted on Tuesday. Since it was a sealed indictment, representatives of the district attorney’s office declined comment to The Enterprise.

Friday, Kutey will be arraigned, Shulman said. Guilderland Police will then formally arrest him, he said.

The ex-girlfriend has an order of protection against Kutey; she’s had the order since the May arrest. Kutey was released on bail before, which is why he was free during last Thursday’s incident, Murley said.

Kutey could not be reached for comment. Also, a call was not returned from the home where his ex-girlfriend was held last Thursday.

A few hours after Kutey surrendered last Thursday, police held a press conference.
"As soon as we could talk to the press, to give them any information, we do," Murley said.

Later that evening, Murley sent a letter to neighbors on and around Woodscape Drive, telling them of what happened.

Guilderland has had other hostage situations before, maybe a dozen, Murley said. But, he said, although risk was involved with each one, none were as dramatic or dangerous as last Thursday’s.