Ex U.S. Soldier, Ukraine Fighter Extradited To FL In Murder Case: DOJ

ESTERO, FL — A former U.S. soldier who was fighting in Ukraine was extradited to Florida to stand trial for six federal offenses related to the 2019 robbery and death of a Brooksville couple, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

Craig Lang, 34, of Arizona and his co-defendant, Alex Zwiefelhofer, 27, of Wisconsin were charged in 2019 of conspiracy to commit robbery, discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, robbery interfering in commerce, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which resulted in the death of the couple.

Lang is also charged with conspiring to kill, kidnap, or maim persons in a foreign country and a violation of the Neutrality Act, the DOJ said. If convicted on all counts, Lang faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

Zwiefelhofer was convicted as charged at a March 8 trial. He’s scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 6.

The couple was found dead in Estero from multiple gunshot wounds to the head and body on April 10, 2018. They had traveled to the area to purchase several firearms from someone who had listed them for sale on the website Armslist, the DOJ said.

Zwiefelhofer and Lang were identified as the individuals who were believed to have murdered the couple during an armed robbery of the $3,000 the couple had brought with them to purchase the guns, investigators said.

The two are also accused of creating a plan to fight the Venezuelan government. They robbed the couple for money they planned to use to travel to the country, court documents said.

Both men are former U.S. military members who met while fighting overseas in Ukraine. They also traveled to Kenya to fight in South Sudan before being arrested and deported back to the U.S.

Once they were back in the U.S., they began planning to travel to Venezuela to fight alongside others. Lang and Zwiefelhofer met in Florida in April 2018, where they planned to take a boat to Venezuela, but their plan fell through, the DOJ said.