Maldonado-Passage decided to testify in his own defense Monday

A man known as "Joe Exotic" has been found guilty Tuesday by a jury on all charges in his federal murder-for-hire trial. Joseph Maldonado-Passage has been convicted of conspiring to kill animal rights activist Carole Baskin in Florida, and killing five tigers and selling and offering to sell tiger cubs.Jurors began deliberating Tuesday after hearing lawyers' closing arguments, and found Maldonado-Passage guilty on all charges. Maldonado-Passage decided to testify in his own defense Monday, despite a judge telling him that he had the right to an attorney and instructing the jurors not to hold that against him. Maldonado-Passage is charged with paying someone to kill Baskin, with whom he was feuding. He faces two murder-for-hire charges. In the first, prosecutors said he paid a zoo employee $3,000 to go to Florida and kill Baskin. He said he didn't talk to that employee about that.In the second charge, prosecutors said Maldonado-Passage discussed murder-for-hire with an undercover FBI agent posing as a hit man, and some of that's recorded, prosecutors said.Maldonado-Passage said he was just playing along because he believed he was being set up and wanted to gather information. Stay with KOCO 5 for the latest.

A man known as "Joe Exotic" has been found guilty Tuesday by a jury on all charges in his federal murder-for-hire trial.

Joseph Maldonado-Passage has been convicted of conspiring to kill animal rights activist Carole Baskin in Florida, and killing five tigers and selling and offering to sell tiger cubs.


Jurors began deliberating Tuesday after hearing lawyers' closing arguments, and found Maldonado-Passage guilty on all charges.

Maldonado-Passage decided to testify in his own defense Monday, despite a judge telling him that he had the right to an attorney and instructing the jurors not to hold that against him.

Maldonado-Passage is charged with paying someone to kill Baskin, with whom he was feuding. He faces two murder-for-hire charges. In the first, prosecutors said he paid a zoo employee $3,000 to go to Florida and kill Baskin. He said he didn't talk to that employee about that.

In the second charge, prosecutors said Maldonado-Passage discussed murder-for-hire with an undercover FBI agent posing as a hit man, and some of that's recorded, prosecutors said.

Maldonado-Passage said he was just playing along because he believed he was being set up and wanted to gather information.

Stay with KOCO 5 for the latest.