Anoop Putta

Motel employee Anoop Putta, 49, was killed in the office of the First Western Inn near Interstate 70 and O'Fallon Park. Authorities later arrested Marquis Black, 35, and charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawfully possessing a gun. Prosecutors say he shot and killed Putta at around 4:30 p.m. July 29 in the main office of the First Western Inn at 4828 North Broadway. Putta's wife told officers she was at the motel when the shooting happened and said her husband had refused service to Black, who was the only customer in the lobby at the time. She then heard three shots fired, court documents said. Other witnesses corroborated her account, police wrote. Officers said they identified Black in surveillance footage getting out of a black Ford Fusion at the motel around the time of the shooting. They said he was wearing clothing that matched the description provided by witnesses. Police later pulled over that car and spoke with the driver. He told them he had dropped Black off at the motel to get a room, court documents said. Cell phone GPS location information taken from Black's cell phone put him at the motel at the time of shooting, investigators wrote. Police in court documents did not say why Black was refused service.