Craig Austin Lang, 34, of Surprise, Arizona, United States has been extradited from Ukraine to the U.S. He and Alex Jared Zwiefelhofer, 27, of Bloomer, Wisconsin, USA are accused of fatally shooting Serafin “Danny” Lorenzo Jr., 52, and Deana Kaye Loomis Lorenzo, 50, and stealing the victims’ $3,000 cash in Florida, USA on April 9, 2018.
Both Danny and Deana are U.S. Army veterans. So are Lang and Zwiefelhofer.
Craig Austin Lang
From 2008 to 2014, Lang served as an infantryman for the U.S. Army. He was incarcerated and dishonorably discharged after deserting his posting at Fort Bliss, Texas, USA and driving nonstop with all his military equipment in an alleged attempt to kill his wife amid their divorce proceedings in 2013.
In 2015, Lang started living in Ukraine where he met Zwiefelhofer in 2016. They both joined Right Sector, an ultranationalist group fighting Russia-backed separatists.
In 2017, Lang and Zwiefelhofer traveled to Africa and were arrested by Kenyan authorities when they tried to enter South Sudan. They were incarcerated in Nairobi, Kenya for two months and deported to the U.S.
After Danny and Deana’s deaths, Lang and Zwiefelhofer were each charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and 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. In addition, Lang was charged with conspiring to kill, kidnap, or maim persons in a foreign country and a violation of the Neutrality Act.
Lang fled to Kyiv, Ukraine where he married a Ukrainian woman and had two children with her. On November 9, 2023, the European Court of Human Rights cleared the way for his deportation from Ukraine.
Zwiefelhofer was convicted on March 8, 2024 on all of the charges filed against him and will be sentenced on August 8, 2024. On June 3, 2024, Lang made his initial court appearance in Fort Myers, Florida.
Surprise
Surprise was founded in 1938 by Flora Mae Statler. It has expanded from a single square mile of farmland into a sprawling suburban center spanning roughly 110 square miles.
Outdoor amenities and sports play a major role in the local economy. The city-owned Surprise Recreation Campus serves as a primary hub, hosting the Surprise Stadium, which acts as the Major League Baseball spring training facility for the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers. The city offers access to extensive hiking and biking trails alongside modern suburban infrastructure.
Incorporated in 1960, Surprise experienced exponential residential development starting in the late 1990s, driven by master-planned developments, low property tax rates, and affordable housing options relative to neighboring areas. Today, the city is home to over 140,000 residents and balances family-oriented neighborhoods with prominent active-adult retirement communities like Sun City Grand.
CONAN Daily 