On the evening of January 14, 2020, Justin Gottlieb, a 27-year-old male, was senselessly murdered in what authorities believe was a targeted attack stemming from a road rage incident. An electrical engineer and young father, Gottlieb was driving his red Ford Explorer home from his job in Jericho to his residence in Plainview, New York. During his commute, he had an encounter with two men in a white Ford Fusion.
As Gottlieb arrived at his parents' home on Margaret Drive East, which was next door to his own, the white sedan pulled up alongside his vehicle at approximately 5:32 p.m. Two shots were fired, striking Gottlieb in the leg and chest. Despite his grave injuries, he managed to run into his parents' house and tell his family that two individuals in a white Ford Fusion were responsible for the shooting. Emergency services were called, and he was transported to Plainview Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
The investigation into the murder of Justin Gottlieb led Nassau County Police to two Suffolk County men: Douglas Coudrey, then 22, of Eastport, and Kenneth Regan, then 21, of Centereach. The suspects were arrested on February 6, 2020. Authorities revealed that just four days after Gottlieb's murder, Coudrey and Regan were also allegedly involved in another fatal shooting on Interstate 80 in Lodi, New Jersey, where one person was killed and another injured.
Following their arrest, both Coudrey and Regan were charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with Gottlieb's death. In February 2024, a jury convicted both men on all charges. They faced a potential maximum sentence of 40 years to life in prison.
