What is the latest confirmed status in the Miguel Stemley case?

What passengers told FOX 8

Passengers told FOX 8 that Stemley drove a group celebrating a friend’s 90th birthday and dropped them at the Chateau Orleans on Burgundy Street. One passenger said, “Miguel the driver was nice enough to come around and say, ‘Hey pops let me give you a hand with the walker.’”

Those passengers said a masked man hopped into the driver’s seat and began to drive off slowly. Stemley jumped in. They said the car sped off and dragged him. The Kia hit two parked cars and flipped about 40 feet from the hotel, crushing him. FOX 8 reported that he was taken to the hospital and later died.

The January 21 FOX 8 story said he was pronounced dead at the scene. NOLA.com’s April 10 story said he later died at University Medical Center, and it described him as a St. Charles Parish man. The reports do not agree on where he died.

What his wife told FOX 8

Lisa Stemley told FOX 8 that her husband was a hard worker who began driving for Uber after he was laid off from a construction job five years earlier. In the station’s witness story she said, “He was a workaholic. He loved his job. he loved his family. He loved people.”

On January 21, FOX 8 reported that she was happy to hear about the indictment and was hoping for a conviction. That is what she said she wanted. It is not a court result.

What the arrest and indictment reports say

FOX 8 reported on November 4, 2025, that police booked Brandon Joseph, 21, with second-degree murder. He was already in jail, accused of stabbing a street performer. The station reported that detectives got a warrant in that stabbing case on September 7 and arrested him on October 15, six days after Stemley was killed. FOX 8 placed the alleged carjacking at Bienville and Burgundy streets.

FOX 8 reported that the grand jury charged Joseph and Martinez each with second-degree murder, and charged Martinez also with accessory after the fact. A spokesman for the district attorney’s office said the accessory count came from “attempting to aid and conceal Joseph.” The station reported that each man would face a mandatory life sentence if convicted on the murder charge.

NOLA.com’s January 21 story, by John Simerman, said District Attorney Jason Williams’s office secured the indictment, and that it was returned Thursday. It named Brandon T. “Bee” Joseph, 21, on second-degree murder. It described Angel Martinez as 20. It said he was charged as a principal to second-degree murder and as an accessory after the fact for allegedly trying to help Joseph evade authorities. It reported that Criminal District Judge Leon Roche denied bond for both men. It named Assistant District Attorney Matthew Derbes.

What the April bail hearing added

NOLA.com’s April 10 story, by Matt Bruce, said Judge Levine set bail at $3 million for each defendant that week. She said she could not hold them without bond permanently. The story described Joseph as 21, charged with second-degree murder, and Martinez as 19, charged as a principal to second-degree murder and with accessory after the fact. The January story had described Martinez as 20. The April story described him as 19. Both figures are the paper’s. The April story said both men face a mandatory life prison term if convicted of the murder counts.

The story said prosecutors played Real-Time Crime Center video. Police said Stemley was outside a running vehicle, helping passengers unload, when Joseph jumped in through the open door. Stemley clutched the side and tried to wrestle him out. Joseph turned right and sped down Burgundy Street, hit a series of parked cars, and the SUV flipped onto the driver’s side, pinning Stemley. The suspect crawled out a passenger-side window. That police account says a series of parked cars. The passengers’ account to FOX 8 said two.

NOLA.com reported that Detective Rayell Johnson testified a vacationing corrections officer chased Joseph and turned over a ski mask and a screwdriver, and that police found a Nike Air Max sneaker in the vehicle. NOLA.com reported Johnson’s testimony that DNA traces from the ski mask tied Joseph to the carjacking.

The story said surveillance allegedly showed Martinez and Rashad Riley, 19, walking behind Joseph. It said Riley and Martinez face charges in another motor-vehicle theft on Bourbon Street two days earlier, according to court records. It printed a text it said Martinez sent his girlfriend. With an expletive blanked by the paper, the message said they tried to take the vehicle, that “B” flipped the car, and that the man was dead. Martinez told police he did not know who stole the vehicle, the story said.

Martinez’s attorney, Devin Jones, said there was no indication the teen was involved, and that he was charged because he would not identify Joseph. Jones said the video showed his client paces behind, looking at his phone.

Joseph’s attorney, Drew Lafontant, argued that he was not armed and that there was no struggle before he jumped in. She called it a crime of opportunity. She said, “There’s no indication that Mr. Joseph had any intent to kill or cause severe bodily harm.” She described what happened as a horrible accident. NOLA.com said a previous version of the story included an inaccurate quote from Joseph’s attorney. The sentence above is the wording in the April 10 story.

The story said Levine set a Nov. 9 trial date. It also said the two men had remained jailed since their arrests. Both statements are as of April 10, 2026.

Sources

• FOX 8 (WVUE), “Witnesses to fatal French Quarter carjacking tried helping 60-year-old victim,” by Andrés Fuentes, October 10, 2025
• FOX 8 (WVUE), “Uber driver identified by wife as victim in French Quarter fatal carjacking,” October 10, 2025
• FOX 8 (WVUE), “NOPD had warrant for rideshare murder suspect weeks before fatal crime,” by Gabby Killett, November 4, 2025
• FOX 8 (WVUE), “Two indicted for murder of New Orleans rideshare driver Miguel Stemley,” by Ken Daley, January 21, 2026
• The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com, “Man indicted for murder in carjacking, death of 60-year-old Uber driver in French Quarter,” by John Simerman, January 21, 2026
• The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com, “$3 million bond set for men accused in Uber driver’s death,” by Matt Bruce, April 10, 2026

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