A 26-year-old Wisconsin man has been convicted in the April 2018 double homicide and armed robbery of a Brooksville, Florida couple.
United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that a federal jury has found 26-year-old Alex Jared Zwiefelhofer, of Wisconsin, guilty of 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.
Zwiefelhofer faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison.
According to testimony presented at trial, on April 10, 2018, two individuals, S.L., Jr. and D.L., were found dead in Estero, Florida 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 who had listed them for sale on a website known as Armslist.
As a result of the investigation, Zwiefelhofer was identified as one of two individuals who 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.
Zwiefelhofer, who had previously fought in Ukraine in 2017 after going AWOL from the U.S. Army, pursued a plan to fight the Venezuelan government and committed the robbery of S.L., Jr. and D.L. to obtain money to fund his travel to Venezuela.
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 Michael V. Leeman. Zwiefelhofer was indicted on December 4, 2019.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 10, 2024.
