WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man has been convicted for the slaying of a man who thought he was meeting an escort.
News outlets report the jury found 24-year-old Jefty Joseph guilty on Monday of murder, robbery and a related kidnapping charge.
Upon hearing the verdict, Joseph said he didn’t commit the crime or get a fair trial and called the judge a racist.
Joseph’s defense attorneys blame the entire slaying on 23-year-old co-defendant Ilmart Christophe. Prosecutors say both men share responsibility.
Prosecutors say 31-year-old Gustavo Falsetti Cabral organized a meeting with an escort hours before his death in December 2013. They say he instead found Joseph and Christophe, who then robbed and killed Cabral.
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty at the next phase of the trial on Feb. 13.
