Man linked to Reserve couple’s killing sentenced to time served; will remain jailed
Published 6:27 pm Wednesday, December 16, 2015
NEW ORLEANS — A New Orleans man who abandoned a stolen van containing blood remnants of a murdered Reserve couple was sentenced to time served.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced Frank Mike Jr., 46, of New Orleans, who pleaded guilty Aug. 12 to interstate transportation of a stolen 2010 Dodge Caravan van from Louisiana to Georgia, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance to imprisonment for time served and to three years of supervised release.
Mike had been jailed on the charge for 20 months, Polite said.
The Court ordered Mike pay restitution in the amount of $13,667.25 and a $100 special assessment. Mike will remain in custody due to a state parole revocation and a hold for a pending state court trial.
According to court records, on Feb. 19, 2014, family members reported to the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Department that Kenneth and Lakeitha Joseph of Reserve were missing.
A relative indicated she loaned her 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan to the Josephs but that the van had not been returned. On Feb. 27, 2014, the missing 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan was recovered by the Fulton County Police Department in College Park, Ga., at an apartment complex.
Investigators discovered the van had been parked at the Travelodge Hotel located in College Park. On Feb. 21, 2014, video surveillance at the Travelodge showed Mike driving the van into the hotel parking lot.
In March 2014, the bodies of Kenneth and Lakeitha Joseph were found in the Intercoastal Waterway in New Orleans East.
The New Orleans Parish Coroner determined their deaths resulted from drowning. Later, forensic testing revealed blood samples taken from the stolen van matched the DNA of both victims.
The bodies of the Reserve married couple were found separately, his on March 22, 2014, and hers on March 10, 2014, in the Intercostal Waterway in New Orleans East.
The homicide investigation into who killed Kenneth and Lakeitha gained momentum with Mike’s April 22, 2014, arrest.
The van Mike pleaded guilty to dumping belonged to Kenneth’s sister, who told investigators Kenneth often borrowed her vehicle and would return it before morning the next day. She said he borrowed it at approximately 6:30 p.m. Feb. 18 and never returned.
Mike had faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Numerous other suspects, including Steven Bradley, Horatio Johnson, Brittany Martin and Amir Ybarra have been charged for various roles in the killings and their cases are still being adjudicated.
Ybarra remains at large.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New Orleans Police Department, the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Fulton County Police Department, the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office and the St. John the Baptist Parish District Attorney’s Office in investigating the matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Michael B. Redmann was in charge of the prosecution.