New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Interstate Transportation of Stolen Van

U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that FRANK MIKE, JR., age 46, of New Orleans, pled guilty as charged today to an Indictment charging interstate transportation of a stolen 2010 Dodge Caravan van from Louisiana to Georgia.

According to court records, on February 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 also indicated that she loaned her 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan to the Josephs but that the van had not been returned.  On February 27, 2014, the missing 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan was recovered by the Fulton County Police Department in College Park, Georgia, at an apartment complex.  Investigators discovered that van had been parked at the Travelodge Hotel located in College Park.  On February 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 Intercostal Waterway in New Orleans East. The New Orleans Parish Coroner determined that their deaths resulted from drowning.  Later forensic testing revealed that blood samples taken from the stolen van matched the DNA of both victims.

U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance scheduled sentencing for December 16, 2015.  MIKE faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

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 this matter.  Assistant United States Attorney Michael B. Redmann is in charge of the prosecution.