2 suspected gang members plead not guilty in Plainview man’s slaying

Police say Douglas Coudrey, 22, of Eastport, and Kenneth Regan, 21, of Centereach are charged in the killing of 27-year-old Justin Gottlieb.

News 12 Staff

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Feb 6, 2020, 3:35 PM

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Updated 1,559 days ago

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Two Suffolk men suspected in the fatal shooting of a father from Plainview pleaded not guilty Thursday in Hempstead court.

Authorities say Douglas Coudrey, 22, of Eastport, and Kenneth Regan, 21, of Centereach are members of the Latin Kings street gang and were responsible for killing Justin Gottlieb, 27, on Jan. 14.

News 12 reported that Gottlieb left his job at 5 p.m. and arrived at his home on Margaret Drive East around 5:30 p.m. Police say he was shot multiple times while exiting his red Ford Explorer. The shooting was investigated as a possible road rage incident.

On his way to court Thursday, Coudrey claimed the pair’s innocence: "We're innocent. We didn't do nothing. They targeting us."

Detective Lt. Steve Fitzpatrick says a car that Coudrey and Regan were in, along with Gottlieb's SUV, were caught on surveillance video minutes before the fatal shooting.

"Both on video surveillance were driving aggressively. We surmise there may have been a road rage incident between them," says Fitzpatrick.

Four days later, prosecutors in New Jersey say Coudrey and Regan, shot and killed 27-year-old Louis Perez. Investigators say the trio followed Perez from New York City over the George Washington Bridge before they say Coudrey extended his arm out the window and fired several shots into the victim's car while they were driving on Route 80 in Lodi.

Fitzpatrick says that Coudrey and Regan were recently on a “criminal tear of armed robberies, carjackings and other crimes."

The Bergen County prosecutor says New Jersey State Police and Suffolk police were watching a home in Eastport last Wednesday when Coudrey, Regan and Plunkett came outside and got into the same white Ford Fusion wanted in connection with Gottlieb's murder.

Prosecutors say they were all taken into custody but added that Coudrey escaped from Suffolk police custody for short time while he was being held at headquarters in Yaphank.

Coudrey’s attorney told News 12 that his client was not involved in the shootings and that he was getting set up by someone else.

Both men are being held without bail.