POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – Two teenage brothers wanted in connection with the murder of a 21-year old man whose body was found in an orange grove Tuesday were arrested Saturday evening.
The brothers, identified by deputies as 18-year-old Angel Lobato and 19-year-old Jojo Lobato, are charged with robbery with a firearm/deadly weapon, first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, accessory after the fact of capital, false report to LEO RE capital felon, grand theft motor vehicle <$100,000, tampering with physical evidence, burglary-unoccupied conveyance unarm, and destroy/tamper with/fabricate physl.
Courtesy Polk County Sheriff’s Office
“We know these guys know something about this crime. I think it’s fair to say they’re persons of interest. They know we’re looking for them. They’re hiding out. Whoever is hiding them is going to jail as well,” said Carrie Horstman, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office public information officer.
Danne Frazier, 21, was reported missing after he did not return home from work in the early morning hours of Nov. 4.
“Something had to be wrong because that’s not like him,” said Leslie Frazier, his mother.
Frazier worked the overnight shift at a Publix warehouse in Lakeland.
Courtesy Lakeland Police Department
“Danne did not come home so I got nervous because he always be home,” said his mother.
After leaving work at 2 a.m., he visited the WaWa gas station on 98 South at 2:20 a.m., which is when he was last seen alive.
On Nov. 10, somebody called 911 to report a body found in an orange grove off of Helicopter Road in Lake Wales.
“He was killed very violently,” said Horstman. “Whoever killed him, we need to find that person and get them behind bars before they hurt anybody else.”
On the night of Nov. 6, deputies in Flagler County spotted Frazier’s vehicle on County Road 335 in Palm Coast, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Frazier was a missing person at that time.
When deputies pulled the vehicle over, the driver, believed to be Jojo Debato, ran away.
“Just stay right there, do not move,” deputies are heard saying to a man identified as Angel Lobato in body camera video.
Deputies handcuffed Lobato as they called for his brother.
“Come out or you’re gonna get dog bit. You’re not in trouble,” a deputy yelled into the night.
Lobato claimed not to know the name of the driver, who was never found, and said they were renting the car, according to the sheriff’s office.
After consulting with the Lakeland Police Department, which was investigating the missing person case, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office determined there was no probable cause to keep Lobato.
Deputies drove him to a nearby motel.
“At that time, [Lakeland police] told us they really had nothing on the individual that we said was the passenger in the vehicle. Based on that and the fact that we had nothing locally, we could not hold them,” said Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Chief Chris Sepe.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is now in possession of Frazier’s vehicle.
If anyone has information on Danne Frazier’s murder, they are urged to contact the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 863-298-6200. Anyone with information can also stay anonymous by contacting Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226 TIPS (8477).
