GUILTY LA - Lakeitha, 29, & Kenneth Joseph, 34, St John Parish, 18 Feb 2014

[bessie]

I love the detective work that went into recovering the vehicle, and led to the arrest of Frank Mike, Jr.

1. February 21, a license plate reader tagged the Dodge Caravan at a motel in College Park, GA. The Josephs were reported missing February 19.
2. NOPD Detective Ryan Vaught travelled to Georgia, and checked out the surveillance videos which showed Frank parking the van and entering a Travelodge motel.
3. Mike used his real name and driver's license to register at the motel.
4. While still in Atlanta, Mike claims he learned from news reports that the van belonged to the missing Josephs, so he decided to ditch it.
5. He wiped it down for fingerprints, and abandoned it at the apartment complex where it was found on February 27. He said he saw blood in the van.
6. March 31, LE executed a search warrant for the Beechwood Court residence. The warrant allowed them to search property records linking Mike to the house.
7. April 2, LE released details of the investigation through the media.
8. April 3, Mike contacted LE, and gave a taped interview.

...claimed he had first seen the Caravan in the driveway of a home he had been renovating on Beechwood Court in New Orleans...

Mike said he received a call from a friend, who told him that “we pulled off a little move” in the van...

“Mike believed that a ‘little move’ meant an armed robbery or simply a stolen car because he knew his friend to commit that type of criminal activity,”...

Mike told detectives he asked his friend for permission to use the van to travel to Atlanta “to go shopping for clothes,” the complaint says. “While in Atlanta, he stated that he learned from news reports that the van was possibly related to a stolen van which involved two missing people,” the complaint says. “He then decided to get rid of the van in Atlanta.”
http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/news/8986577-171/man-under-investigation-in-reserve

So what kind of fool borrows a vehicle he knows was recently used in a crime, so he can drive 500 miles to shop for clothes? I call poppycock.

About the two geniuses who made the Wal-mart purchases:

“We know who they are,” he said, “and we know where they are.”

Police asked anyone with information about the case to call (504) 658-5300.
http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/news/8986577-171/man-under-investigation-in-reserve

ETA:

April 24, 2014 at 7:06 PM, updated April 25, 2014 at 2:47 AM
The Times Picayune
During the inquiry, a witness told investigators that he saw the Josephs' van, which they had borrowed from Kenneth Joseph's sister, parked at Mike's home sometime after Feb. 17.
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/04/heat_was_on_when_suspect_linke.html

 

[bessie]

Not much news. Just some info about the suspect's property in New Orleans East where LE says the body of at least one of the Josephs was held; and where the van was parked before Mike drove it to Atlanta.

But Mike, 45, is only person arrested so far. And on Friday a federal grand jury indicted him on a charge of interstate transportation of stolen property, for driving the Joseph's van from Louisiana to Georgia.

Assessor's office records say Mike & Mike Properties purchased the Beechwood Court property for $5,044 at a 2010 tax sale. The company, which has a St. Rose address, is not listed in Louisiana secretary of state's office business records.

The previous owner of the home is Christopher Dorsey, a 33-year-old local rapper known as B.G. who gained international acclaim for his gritty songs detailing drug dealing, violence and a no-snitch mantra. Dorsey was sentenced in 2012 to 14 years in federal prison for gun possession and witness tampering.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/04/home_of_suspect_in_murder_of_r.html

 

[CajunGirl]

my opinion...

The body in the house means that at least one of the Joseph's were there. I'm assuming alive since cause of death was drowning. There had to be some type of DNA to prove that. Also, I think Frank Mike was either paid to get the van out of Louisiana or he transported something in it to Georgia...drugs? Why else would a guy who had a criminal past & spent 13 years in jail drive a vehicle 500 miles & take that chance? Maybe he didn't know that the couple was killed. I know that any normal person wouldn't drive a vehicle that was known to be used in a crime ...much less drive it 500 miles on a major interstate! Come on now... shopping in Atlanta? Why not use your own vehicle to take that trip?

If they just wanted to get rid of the van, driving it to Georgia would not be needed...we are surrounded by water down here. How many stolen vehicles are put in the water and recovered years later? LOTS...

As much as I hate to say it, I'm going to... this was probably over BIG drugs... whether the Joseph's were involved directly or were believed to be "snitches", i don't know BUT that sure is a lot of people involved and a horrible way to die. It's torture.

I find it odd that they haven't plastered Frank Mike Jr's face all over the media... why not?

 

[CajunGirl]

Not much news. Just some info about the suspect's property in New Orleans East where LE says the body of at least one of the Josephs was held; and where the van was parked before Mike drove it to Atlanta.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/04/home_of_suspect_in_murder_of_r.html

Also... have you noticed that the house does NOT appear to be boarded up? maybe it's just the back windows but none of the others shown in pictures appear to have wood on the windows lol

The assessors site shows owner as Chris Dorsey w/ the St Rose address as the mailing address.

Mike & Mike properties operates with a St Rose PO box address... i also found that address tied to Mike jr at an Algiers point address.

 

[bakerlady]

Dorsey is in jail now, convicted in 2012 to 14 years. He was the previous owner and has nothing to do with this case other than being the previous owner of the home in question AFAIK.

 

[CajunGirl]

Dorsey is in jail now, convicted in 2012 to 14 years. He was the previous owner and has nothing to do with this case other than being the previous owner of the home in question AFAIK.

correct BUT it's odd that the assessors website shows he still owns the house & the mailing address is that of MIKE & MIKE Properties... I just purchased a home within the last month and the assessors site is already updated with my information. I just find it odd that Chris Dorsey's name still shows up as the "owner" and mailing addy is Mike Jr's "business". I know Dorsey's in jail...I was a fan of his music prior to getting locked up. Mike Jr was also in jail for drugs, sentenced to 30 years until Blanco allowed him eligible for parole in 2006 (he served 13 years). Who's to say that they didn't all "run" together? <modsnip>

 

[CajunGirl]

ah...found something interesting...

arrests.org ... there is a pic of Frank Mike (housing a prisoner is the charge shown) BUT guess what? Dorsey is also on there, shown in St Charles parish and the same "charge" is shown. I don't know how accurate those things are BUT the date for Dorsey shows 4/3/2014 and date for Mike shows 4/22/2014 ... That's strange to me.

 

[bessie]

correct BUT it's odd that the assessors website shows he still owns the house & the mailing address is that of MIKE & MIKE Properties... I just purchased a home within the last month and the assessors site is already updated with my information. I just find it odd that Chris Dorsey's name still shows up as the "owner" and mailing addy is Mike Jr's "business". I know Dorsey's in jail...I was a fan of his music prior to getting locked up. Mike Jr was also in jail for drugs, sentenced to 30 years until Blanco allowed him eligible for parole in 2006 (he served 13 years). Who's to say that they didn't all "run" together? <modsnip>

That's because it was purchased at a tax sale.

ETA: A link

A tax title sale is the sale of properties that have delinquent taxes due and owing the political subdivision. These properties are sold to the public for the amount of delinquent taxes due, plus any accrued interest, penalties, costs and other statutory impositions. If a property is sold at tax sale, the property owner has three years to redeem the property from the purchaser. For properties in Orleans Parish, this redemption period is reduced to 18 months if the property is deemed legally blighted or abandoned. The property owner may redeem the property by paying the tax sale purchaser the purchase price plus a 5% penalty and 1% interest per month from the date of the tax sale until the date it is redeemed. See: La. R.S. 47:2243.

http://www.civicsource.com/content/...Process-Questions_for_Buyers_After_Purchasing

 

[los2188]

NOPD to charge 2 with murder of missing Reserve couple -

NEW ORLEANS --

Police will charge a man and a woman in the murders of Lakeitha and Kenneth Joseph, a couple whose bodies were found in March after they had been missing for weeks.

http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/NOPD-charge-2-with-murder-of-missing-Reserve-couple-258368351.html

 

[ClaireNC]

I am new to this case. It is certainly an interesting one. What a beautiful couple and such a horrible way to die.

I just came across this article published yesterday.

Friend of murdered Reserve couple targeted by gunman, WVUE reports
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/05/best_friend_of_murdered_reserv.html

(The friend) lives across the street from the former home of the murdered couple. He told FOX 8 he thinks the gunman wants the two pit bulls left behind by Kenneth Joseph and his wife, Lakeitha

Pit bulls worth killing over??

 

[CajunGirl]

So they arrested 2 people. One whom did 19 years for murdering someone when he was 17. he was sentenced to 35 years and did 19 of them...shaking my head in disgust. We were in highschool when that happened...he was a classmate. What a waste of life. They aren't reporting the history there as of yet BUT Johnson was Ken's cousin. Also, the media reported that Ken wasn't working but trying to start up a lawn care business but now they are saying that Ken and Horatio were business partners and worked together doing limited liability officer work? here's the article with more details.

how does a 25 year old female get herself mixed up in that mess? now, she's a killer too!

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/05/police_announce_arrests_in_mur.html#incart_m-rpt-2

 

[bessie]

Brittany Martin, 25 and Horatio Johnson, 37

The NOPD is charging 25-year-old Brittany Martin and 37-year-old Horatio Johnson with two counts of second-degree murder. Police say both suspects are from St. John the Baptist Parish.

http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/NOPD-charge-2-with-murder-of-missing-Reserve-couple-258368351.html

I searched for news yesterday morning, like I've been doing everyday for a while now. There was nothing. How the heck did I not see this last night?

Anyway, I'm SO relieved to see these two arrested, but for what? Yes, CajunGirl, a 25-year-old young woman is now a double murderer. What a crying shame.

Kenneth and Lakeitha Joseph

Jones lives across the street from the former home of the murdered couple. He told FOX 8 he thinks the gunman wants the two pit bulls left behind by Kenneth Joseph and his wife, Lakeitha. Their bodies were found in March floating in the Intracoastal Waterway and their deaths have been classified as homicides.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/05/best_friend_of_murdered_reserv.html

How did I know pit bulls would be involved? It's not the first drowning death/murder I've heard of involving pit bulls. I'll be inerested to find out if they actually do figure in the crime.

 

[bessie]

Suspects in Reserve couple's murder shared prison walls

By NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
May 08, 2014 at 7:25 PM, updated May 08, 2014 at 9:11 PM

Brittany Martin and Horatio Johnson, the pair accused of killing a Reserve couple whose bound bodies surfaced in a New Orleans waterway, spent nearly nine months together behind thick prison walls. She was a corrections employee, he an inmate serving a long sentence for manslaughter.
[snip]
The dead man and the felon accused in his demise are cousins, a relative and a family friend confirmed Thursday.
[snip]
Johnson served the last portion of his prison sentence at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel, where he was housed from mid-October 2007 until his release date in 2011. Martin was an employee there for about nine months, until she resigned without explanation in April 2011, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Pam Laborde confirmed.

Authorities: &#8216;We know more than you think&#8217;

BY JOHN SIMERMAN
May 09, 2014

But speaking at a news conference Thursday with St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre and state and federal investigators, he warned others who may have been involved or know about the crimes to step forward.

&#8220;I would strongly recommend that we know more than you think,&#8221; Serpas said. &#8220;We know, and it&#8217;s time for you to come forward.&#8221;

He acknowledged that blood found in a 2010 Dodge Caravan that Kenneth Joseph had borrowed from his sister on Feb. 18 tested positive for a mixture of the two victims&#8217; blood. Police later recovered the van in an apartment complex in College Park, Georgia.

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

Thanks y'all for posting the updates. This is an absolutely horrifying case and it is a relief to know it will not go unsolved, nor the murderers unpunished. We often say that LE knows so much more than we do, and it is good to see that in print in this case. Thanks again. I won't forget these two people.

 

[CajunGirl]

And from what I hear, Brittany has a child...I wonder if it's Horatio's... no idea the age but now this poor kid has to live life without his mother because she chose the life of a killer instead of a parent. TRASH!

I still think this case will involve drugs...whether Ken was involved in it or not, I do not know but if not, maybe Horatio was sending someone a message that he better not get crossed/snitched on for whatever he was doing illegally.

ETA: i forgot the link

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/05/arrest_warrant_in_reserve_coup.html#incart_m-rpt-1

 

[CajunGirl]

i do have a question though...maybe you can answer Bessie...

why 2nd degree murder? it's clear that they are saying the video shows Martin & Johnson purchasing "murder weapons" ...so wouldn't that be premeditated first degree murder?

 

[bakerlady]

i do have a question though...maybe you can answer Bessie...

why 2nd degree murder? it's clear that they are saying the video shows Martin & Johnson purchasing "murder weapons" ...so wouldn't that be premeditated first degree murder?

To me it shows they purchased items to cover up a murder. I also think 2nd degree murder would be an easier conviction so it might be better that way.

 

[bessie]

i do have a question though...maybe you can answer Bessie...

why 2nd degree murder? it's clear that they are saying the video shows Martin & Johnson purchasing "murder weapons" ...so wouldn't that be premeditated first degree murder?

The difference between first and second degree murder in Louisiana isn't based solely on intent. Intent can be a factor in both. Where there is intent to kill (or inflict great bodily harm), but no felony crime is committed, then the charge is second degree. Murder is also second degree when there is no specific intent to kill, but the homicide occurs as a result of a felony, i.e., aggravated kidnapping, aggravated or forcible rape, aggravated burglary, etc.

To charge them with first degree murder, they either will have to prove intent and the presence of a felony crime. Or, a specific intent to kill both victims (more than one person). There are a couple of other conditions that could apply, possibly. For example, if either or both victims witnessed a separate crime, and the murder was committed to prevent their testimony.

Obviously, there is much more to this crime that hasn't been released to the public, so we're left without an explanation for the glaring discrepancies. For instance, even though the coroner classified the cause of death as drowning, Serpas won't comment on whether they went into the water alive or dead. The autopsy report says they were not stabbed, shot, strangled, or beaten. Yet we've learned blood from both victims was found in the vehicle. So what's up with that? Is there a problem with the coroner's report? We'll have to wait and see. IMO, the purchase of the supplies would show intent, IF they can prove the couple was alive when the items were purchased. That is where statements from those other participants/witnesses could come into play. Then we might see the charges bumped up to first degree. JMO

But Serpas refused to answer questions about any crimes that may have been committed before the couple were dumped. And he declined to say whether detectives believe the Josephs, bound by rope and weighted down, were living or dead when they landed in the water. The Orleans Parish Coroner&#8217;s Office has classified the deaths as drownings, saying autopsies showed they were alive at the time.

The couple&#8217;s bodies were found separately in the water, tied with blue nylon rope, weeks after they were last seen Feb. 18.

http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/news/8818264-171/orleans-coroner-rules-reserve-couples

http://legis.la.gov/lss/lss.asp?doc=78397

http://legis.la.gov/lss/lss.asp?doc=78398

 

[bessie]

Here come those witnesses...

Arrest warrant reveals suspects in Reserve couple's killings met in jail

Updated: May 13, 2014 4:06 PM CST
Written by: Natasha Robi

"At 1 a.m. on Feb. 19, Brittany Martin and Horatio Johnson were observed purchasing murder weapons on surveillance video, and Martin's credit card verified these purchases," said New Orleans Police Chief Ronal Serpas.

According to the warrant, the NOPD's lead investigator interviewed another person, who is identified in the document only as "Witness 1." Witness 1 told police that he and another person, identified as "Blue," received the Josephs' van from Johnson, who asked them to clean it out and get rid of it.

The warrant states: "He and Blue then drove the van to Frank Mike Jr.'s residence, where they parked it. Witness 1stated that Horatio Johnson and his girlfriend Brittany Martin followed them."

"The van was delivered to Atlanta and then abandoned," Serpas said. "A forensic examination revealed that the blood in the van was a mixture of both victims."

When did the witnesses receive the bloody vehicle from Johnson??

Suspects in Reserve couple's murder case found romance behind prison walls, records say

By Ken Daley, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
May 12, 2014 at 7:38 PM, updated May 13, 2014 at 2:57 PM

The warrant said it was a Crimestoppers tip received by the St. John The Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office that first pointed investigators toward Johnson, a cousin of Kenneth Joseph who was on parole after serving nearly 18 years of a sentence for manslaughter. ...

The warrant said Lakeitha Johnson's last known contact with family members was Feb. 18 at about 6 p.m. Concerned family members reported the Reserve couple missing the next day...

The warrant also revealed that lead investigator and NOPD Homicide Detective Ryan Vaught has interviewed at least one other person believed to have knowledge of the crime, or at least the efforts to conceal it. There is no indication that person, identified in court documents as "Witness #1," has been taken into custody.

The document said "Witness #1" was one of three people investigators believe delivered the blood-stained van to a house used by Frank Mike Jr...

 

[bakerlady]

So sad...Was this really over some dogs? Is that the only motive mentioned so far?

The photos of the Josephs are haunting because they seemed like they were glowing and happy and in love. Beautiful couple. May they RIP.