By Jerry Burke
A grand jury on Monday handed up a four-count indictment of Reginald Gousse, 31, including one count of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree attempted robbery and one count of criminal impersonation.
Gousse, arrested last month in connection with the murder of Garden City South resident James Gottlieb as he drove home along Semton Boulevard, was in Brooklyn last week facing another round of charges, including kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, criminal impersonation, and multiple counts of robbery and larceny.
The Brooklyn charges came two weeks after Queens District Attorney Richard Brown charged Gousse with a kidnapping and robbery at a check-cashing business in Queens last May 20.
While each of the three courts will seek to prosecute Gousse, a spokesman for the Queens D.A. said Nassau County will get first crack at him because of the severity of the charges involved.
Gousse was scheduled to be arraigned by Nassau County Court Judge John Kase on Tuesday. If convicted, Gousse faces life without the possibility of parole.
In Brooklyn, Gousse was charged with pulling a couple over with his car, which was equipped with flashing lights, last May 4 and pretending to be a police officer. According to the indictment, Gousse tied the couple up with plastic ties and then drove them to a check-cashing store where the male victim worked. While there, police said that Gousse robbed the couple of more than $1,000 in cash and property.
In Queens Criminal Court March 3, Gousse was charged in a seven-count indictment with first-degree robbery, second-degree kidnapping and first-degree criminal impersonation. He faces 25 years in prison on each count if convicted. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in Queens Supreme Court last week before Judge James P. Griffin, who ordered Gousse remanded without bail. He is scheduled to return to the Queens courtroom on March 30.
Gousse was arrested on Feb. 11 for the shooting death of Gottlieb, 49, a father of three. Police said that on Jan. 5, Gottlieb, who had left work at HSBC Bank, at 125 Cedarhurst Ave. in Cedarhurst, was gunned down by Gousse, who was posing as a police officer and driving an SUV equipped with blue and white police-style lights. Police said Gousse wanted Gottlieb's keys to the bank, but the assistant bank manager resisted Gousse's demands and was fatally shot.
Once Gousse was caught, NYPD officers reportedly connected him with at least eight incidents since his March 2004 release from the Downstate Correctional Facility. Police say Gousse served five years there for the 1998 armed robbery of a Staples employee in Queens while Gousse was pretending to be a police officer. "We looked at him for the signature nature of the crime, for someone posing as a police officer," said one source.
All three district attorney's offices said the investigation into Gousse's activities continues, and that they have not ruled out filing additional charges. Nassau County police are currently considering Gousse a suspect in the robbery and kidnapping of a manager at Waldbaum's in North Lawrence last April. Police said they believe that a month after his March release, Gousse followed the night manager from Waldbaum's to Cambria Heights, where he pulled her over with a siren and flashing lights. He handcuffed her, brought her back to the supermarket and forced her to open a safe containing more than $11,700, police said.
Gousse's attorneys could not be reached for comment.
Jeff Lipton contributed to this story. Comments about it? JBurke@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 x234.
