Men Accused In Rt. 80 Shooting Charged In NY Slaying

HACKENSACK, NJ – The two New York men charged in connection with a fatal shooting on Route 80 in January have been arrested for allegedly gunning down a Long Island father, according to authorities.

On Thursday, Nassau County police announced the arrests of Douglas Coudrey, 22, of Eastport, and Kenneth Regan, 21, of Centereach, in the slaying of 27-year-old Justin Gottlieb.

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Gottlieb was shot outside a Margaret Drive East home on the evening of Jan. 14. Police called it a targeted attack; Gottlieb died at a hospital.

Coudrey and Regan face charges of second-degree murder and were expected to appear Thursday in 1st District Court in Hempstead.

Coudrey and Regan are also accused of shooting 27-year-old Louis Perez of the Bronx to death on Route 80 near Lodi on Jan. 18, New Jersey, prosecutors in Bergen County said.

Read More: 2 Men Charged In Route 80 'Targeted' Killing

The incident happened around 12:16 a.m. when state troopers responded to a report of a shooting on Route 80 westbound at milepost 64.4 in Lodi. Perez, a Bronx resident, was driving a Honda Civic when a car pulled alongside Perez's vehicle and its occupants opened fire, authorities said.

Perez was killed and his front seat passenger, 24-year-old Jose Mercado, also from the Bronx, was critically injured. Authorities said Mercado was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where he underwent surgery and is now in stable condition. A third male passenger in the backseat was not injured, authorities said.

See More: Statewide Search In Fatal Route 80 Shooting

Further investigation determined Regan and Coudrey followed Perez from New York, over the George Washington Bridge and onto Route 80.

New Jersey State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said, "This was a targeted killing. The individuals were all familiar with each other." Detectives are continuing to investigate the case to find "specific motivations" and "specific associations" between the men, Grewal said.

With additional reporting from Patch editor Daniel Hampton.