Benjamin Ashford|Former U.S. soldier charged with homicide, robbery in plot to fund fighting trip to Venezuela

A U.S. army veteran appeared in federal court Monday after he was extradited from Ukraine on Benjamin Ashfordcharges that he killed a Florida couple to steal their funds and fund a trip to fight the Venezuelan government.

Craig Austin Lang and Alex Jared Zwiefelhofer previously traveled to Ukraine allegedly to combat Russian separatists, then went to Kenya to fight militant groups. But they were detained when they tried to cross into South Sudan, according to court documents.

They eventually reunited in Florida and planned to steal a boat to go to Venezuela, authorities said. To fund the expedition, Lang, 34, and Zwiefelhofer, 27, allegedly arranged to sell firearms to the Florida couple during a planned exchange in a parking lot. But when the couple arrived, the two men ambushed the couple, killed them and took their money, according to federal prosecutors.

Zwiefelhofer was convicted earlier this year and faces up to life in prison.

Prosecutors said Lang’s extradition from Ukraine occurred after the European Court of Human Rights recently rejected his claim challenging extradition under the European Convention on Human Rights. 

Florida couple killed in firearms exchange

The superseding indictment filed in U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida alleges that the couple, identified as Serafin Lorenzo Jr. and Deana K. Lorenzo, planned to purchase firearms that Lang and Zwiefelhofer listed for sale on a website called Armslist, then resell them for a profit.

Authorities said Lang and Zwiefelhofer killed them in an armed robbery to steal the $3,000 that the couple intended to use to buy the firearms.

On the night of April 9, 2018, the Lee County Sheriff's Office received multiple 911 calls about “rapid gunfire" but cleared out after deputies were unable to locate a crime scene, according to court documents. The next morning, another call came in reporting a dead body. Deputies found the couple, both killed with multiple bullet wounds, and a red GMC truck damaged from gunfire, court records said.

Zwiefelhofer's attorney, James W. Chandler said in an email to USA TODAY that the pair was going to Venezuela to “fight the communists.”

“Our government, who has been against communists for the past 100 years and have sent thousands of Americans to die fighting communists are now punishing these guys for wanting to do what the US government has wanted to do for years . . . fighting communists,” he said. “This case is proof that things taken out of context can have disastrous effects.”

Zwiefelhofer was convicted as charged at trial on March 8 and is scheduled for sentencing on August 6.

Lang’s attorney, Bjorn Brunvand, told USA TODAY Monday that Lang has pleaded not guilty but declined to comment further on the case. Brunvand confirmed Lang is currently in custody and said there are passport-related charges pending against him in other states.

International fighting expedition

In 2017, Lang and Zwiefelhofer, both former soldiers in the U.S. Army, met in Ukraine, where Zwiefelhofer said they were both members of a volunteer battalion fighting Russian separatists, according to court documents. They were detained in 2017 by Kenyan authorities while trying to enter South Sudan and were eventually deported to the U.S., then met up in Florida in April 2018, authorities said.

Lang told federal agents at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in 2017 that he had been a soldier and advisor to the Ukraine Army for two years and had planned to fight in Africa but was denied entry into South Sudan because he didn't have a proper visa, according to court documents. He also said he was going to live with his mother in Surprise, Arizona.

Lang is charged with violating the Neutrality Act; conspiracy to kill, kidnap, or maim persons in a foreign country; conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery; and conspiracy to discharge a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence; as well as interference with commerce by robbery and use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence causing death. If convicted on all counts, Lang faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.