Two Suffolk County men were sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for the January 2020 murder of a Plainview resident.
Douglas Coudrey, 26, from Eastport, and Kenneth Regan, 25, from Centereach, were convicted by a jury on February 6 of second-degree murder (an A-I felony) and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (a C violent felony) for the murder of Justin Gottlieb. The defendants were each sentenced on March 22 before Judge Robert A. Schwartz to 40 years to life in prison.
On the evening of January 14, 2020, Gottlieb, a 27-year-old electrical engineer at a lighting company in Jericho, was driving home from work to Plainview. As Gottlieb drove in his red Ford Explorer, he was followed by a white Ford Fusion operated by Coudrey and Regan. At approximately 5:32 p.m. Gottlieb pulled up in front of his parents’ home in Plainview, which was next door to his own home. Shortly thereafter, the Ford Fusion pulled up next to Gottlieb’s car and two shots were fired at the victim, striking him in the leg and chest.
Gottlieb ran into his parents’ home where, fighting for his life, he told his family that the perpetrators were two kids in a white Ford Fusion. The victim was pronounced dead a short time later at Plainview Hospital. The victim was engaged and had an infant daughter with his fiancé.
On January 18, 2020, Coudrey and Regan allegedly shot another motorist on Interstate 80 in Lodi, New Jersey. One occupant of the vehicle was killed while another was wounded. That case is being handled by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.
The .9mm shell casings from the New Jersey case and the Nassau County case were determined to have been fired from the same gun. Both Coudrey and Regan were arrested on January 22, 2020, in Suffolk County by members of the Suffolk County Police Department and the New Jersey State Police. They were arrested and charged with the Nassau murder on February 6, 2020, by members of the Nassau County Police Department’s Homicide Squad.
“Justin Gottlieb was coming home to his young family after a day at work when he was ambushed by Douglas Coudrey and Kenneth Regan and shot twice following an encounter with the pair during his drive,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “Justin fought long enough to help identify the attackers before succumbing to his injuries. Just days after his murder, Coudrey and Regan were arrested for allegedly murdering another motorist in New Jersey. Justin’s daughter will never get to know the man that so many family members and friends loved because of the despicable violence of these two men. Our thoughts remain with Justin’s loved ones as they continue to grieve his loss.”
The Nassau County Police Department received assistance from the Suffolk County Police Department, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the New Jersey State Police and the Suffolk County Department of Social Services insd this investigation.