Left: Jo Lobato. Right: Angel Lobato. Inset: Danne Frazier (Polk County Sheriff”s Office).
Two siblings from Florida will spend their lives in prison for the murder of a man one of them deceived into a fake online relationship to boost their “street credibility.”
Angel Lobato, 23, and Jo Lobato, 24, received life sentences after they were found guilty of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and other charges linked to the killing of Danne Frazier in 2020. Angel Lobato was sentenced last week, following his brother’s sentencing in November.
Prosecutors revealed that Jo Lobato started a conversation with 21-year-old Frazier online, pretending to seek a romantic connection about a month before the crime. However, their true intent was neither love nor friendship; they aimed to rob and murder Frazier, viewing him as an “easy target,” according to prosecutors.
“In doing so, they would earn their ‘stripes’ in the streets,” a press release said.
Jo Lobato arranged to meet Frazier after work at Central Park in Winter Haven. While the two strolled through the park, Angel Lobato waited nearby, hiding with a baseball bat. The plan was for Jo Lobato to distract Frazier with a gesture like a “kiss,” allowing his brother to ambush him with the bat.
Frazier, however, began to defend himself, prompting Jo Lobato to “choke him out,” as stated by police. They forced Frazier into his vehicle while Angel Lobato assaulted him with the bat.
Police documented in the probable cause arrest affidavit that “Angel admitted to leaning into the backseat and cutting the victim’s neck with the knife that Jo was carrying.” He admitted to cutting the victim’s neck multiple times.
The Lobatos drive Frazier to an overgrown wooded area on Helicopter Road in Lake Wales, where they dumped his body and covered the remains with branches. Frazier’s mother reported him missing on Nov. 4, 2020, and workers conducting an environmental study found the body about a week later.
Police arrested the Lobato brothers 10 days later.
“These two brothers are pure evil in the flesh. Danne Frazier was just a good kid, trying to comfort someone he met online,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said after the arrests. “They murdered him just so they would have ‘street cred.’ I have no words for this kind of evil. My heart goes out to Danne’s family. They raised a good young man, and they don’t deserve this.”
