Eastport Man Charged In 'Targeted' Killing: Police

EASTPORT, NY — An Eastport man is one of two Long Island men facing charges in connection with a shooting on Route 80 in Lodi, NJ that killed one person and critically injured another, according to authorities. The two men followed the victims from New York in what authorities called a "targeted" killing.

During a press conference Thursday morning, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, New Jersey State Police and New Jersey State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced that Douglas Coudrey, 22, of Eastport and Kenneth Regan, 21, of Centereach, were arrested and charged with the Jan. 18 killing of 27-year-old Louis Perez on Route 80.

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.

Grewal said, "This was a targeted killing. The individuals were all familiar with each other."
Detectives will continue to investigate the case to find "specific motivations" and "specific associations" between the men, Grewal said.

Robert Anzilotti, chief of detectives at the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, said Regan and Coudrey were arrested on Long Island and will be extradited to Bergen County.

According to the prosecutor's office, during a court ordered search of the vehicle and Coudrey's residence, a loaded, defaced .22 caliber rifle modified to be used as a submachine gun and a sawed-off shotgun were seized.

Coudrey was charged with the murder of Perez, two counts of attempted murder, criminal possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled dangerous substance and felony escape, Anzilotti said. Regan was charged with the murder of Perez, various weapons offenses and criminal possession of a firearm, Anzilotti said.

Robert Plunkett, who was with Regan and Coudrey at the time of their arrest, also faces a weapons charge, authorities said.