A federal jury has found Craig Austin Lang, 35, guilty of multiple charges stemming from the death of a couple in Estero in 2018.
The charges against Lang include conspiracy to commit robbery affecting commerce and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, robbery interfering with commerce, discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which resulted in death, conspiring to kill persons in a foreign country and a violation of the Neutrality Act.
Lang, of Surprise, Arizona, faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 27, 2026. Lang was indicted on December 4, 2019.
Lang, along with co-defendant Alex Jared Zwiefelhofer, 28, of Bloomer, Wisconsin, was charged in 2019 in connection with the death of of Brooksville, Florida, residents Serafin "Danny" Lorenzo, 53, and Deana K. Lorenzo, 51.
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According to testimony presented at trial, on April 10, 2018, two individuals, S.L., Jr. and D.L., were found dead in Estero, from multiple gunshot wounds to the head and body. Further investigation revealed that the couple had traveled to Estero from Brooksville, Florida, to complete the purchase of several firearms from an individual that listed them for sale on a website known as Armslist.
As a result of the investigation, Lang was identified as one of two individuals that was believed to have murdered the couple during the course of an armed robbery of the $3,000 that the couple intended to use to purchase the firearms.
Lang, who had previously fought in Ukraine, pursued a plan to fight the Venezuelan government and committed the robbery of S.L., Jr. and D.L. to obtain money to fund travel to Venezuela.
Lang’s co-defendant, Zwiefelhofer, was previously convicted of the same offenses and sentenced to consecutive life-sentences and is currently imprisoned in the high-security U.S. penitentiary in Terra Haute, Indiana.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jesus M. Casas and Benjamin S. Winter.
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