2 suspected gang members sentenced to 40 years to life for road rage killing of dad in Plainview
MINEOLA, Long Island (WABC) -- Two suspected gang members convicted of killing a Plainview father during a road rage dispute were sentenced to 40 years to life on Friday.
Douglas Coudrey, 26, of Eastport, and 25-year-old Kenneth Regan of Centereach, were convicted of murder and weapons charges last month for fatally shooting 27-year-old Justin Gottlieb in front of his parents' home on Jan. 14, 2020.
However time has not helped to heal wounds for the victim's family.
"We'll never have our son back," said Gottlieb's father in court. "Kind of senseless."
Gottlieb's parents were supposed to address the two men about the murder with victim impact statements -- but they just couldn't do it.
"It is like being in a dark tunnel which has no end in sight," said Christina Saitta, Gottlieb's aunt, who read on behalf of her sister, the victim's mother. "He was pounding on the door, pleading for help with two gunshot wounds, one in his chest and one in his leg. My husband and I have nightmares from this night. He was shot in front of our house."
The murder stemmed from a random road rage dispute. The two men then decided to chase Gottlieb back to his parents' house, where he was shot and killed.
Gottlieb didn't even get to enjoy a full year of being a girl dad. His daughter, now four years older, with lots of questions to her mom about what happened to her dad.
"One day she will be able to google for herself and see the faces of the men who broke our family," said Lauren La Bella, Gottlieb's fiancée.
Coudrey and Regan face another murder trial in Bergen County, after they were tied to a second road-rage killing four days after Gottlieb was killed.
That victim, 27-year-old Luis Perez of the Bronx, was chased across the George Washington Bridge into Lodi, where he was fatally shot on Interstate 80.
A passenger in the front seat, 24-year-old Jose Mercado, also suffered gunshot wounds to the chest but survived.
"People like you cannot be rehabilitated," said Nassau County Judge Robert Schwartz. "By law, I cannot sentence to life in prison without parole. But I intend to do the next best thing."
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