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Douglas Coudrey, 22, of Eastport, and Kenneth Regan, 21, of Centereach, were arrested on Thursday, Feb. 6, by Nassau County police for the Jan. 14 murder of Justin Gottlieb, 27, of Plainview, said the Nassau County Police.
Coudrey and Regan were already behind bars for the murder and attempted murder of two men just four days later on Saturday, Jan. 18, following another traffic-related incident in New Jersey.
According to police, Gottlieb left his place of employment in Jericho to drive home to his residence in Plainview.
He was driving a 2002 red Ford Explorer, was followed to Margaret Drive East in Plainview by another vehicle, and then shot and killed as he attempted to exit the vehicle around 5:30 p.m.
At the time of Gottlieb's murder, Nassau Police Det. Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick, was most likely targeted, potentially following a road rage incident.
In the New Jersey shooting incident, state police said Louis Perez, 27, of New York, was driving a Honda Civic westbound on I-80 in Lodi, when an unknown vehicle pulled alongside his vehicle and fired several gunshots, striking Perez and a front-seat passenger.
Perez died at the scene, the passenger, Jose Mercado, 24, of the Bronx, was shot in the chest and is still in critical condition.
A joint investigation by the New Jersey State Police and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office led detectives to the Eastport home of Coudrey.
On Wednesday, Jan. 22, while conducting a surveillance of the residence, detectives observed Regan, Coudrey, and a third man enter a car and leave, said the prosecutor's office.
Detectives attempted a motor vehicle stop but the vehicle fled the scene and crashed a short distance later into a fence. All three were taken into custody.
During a search of the vehicle and Coudrey's home, a loaded defaced .22 caliber rifle modified to be used as a submachine gun and a sawed-off shotgun was found, the prosecutor's office said.
In New Jersey, the duo have was charged with murder and two counts attempted murder, officials said. In Suffolk County, they have both been charged with murder.
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