Current:Home > MarketsA Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them. -WealthEngine
A Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them.
View
Date:2025-04-24 22:48:56
Correction: An early version of this story provided an incorrect location for the casino the victims were visiting.
A Florida couple is grateful to be alive after two masked men attacked, robbed and shot them as they returned home from a date night at a casino, according to authorities.
The ambush happened at 5 a.m. on Aug. 2 outside a home in Riverview, Florida after the couple spent the evening at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa, a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokesperson told USA TODAY on Friday. Two people were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds that morning.
Tristin Wright, 36, and Marcus Jenkins, 34, have been arrested in connection with the shooting, according to the department. Jenkins has been charged with attempted murder, but both men face several robbery, firearm and battery charges, the spokesperson said. Police are also currently looking for a third suspect.
USA TODAY was working to track down the men's attorneys, if they have them. None are listed for them in court records.
Gunshot victims detail attack
Kim Chambliss and her boyfriend, Val Delacruz, spoke to WTVT about the attack and how they are recovering from the shooting.
"I hear another gunshot and my first thought was 'They've killed him.' I was hysterical, I screamed and cried," Chambliss told the TV station about what she thought when the robbers shot Delacruz.
She talked about how shocking the attack was, saying "we're just average people who are out having a good time, who love each other."
"And to know that we didn't even realize that people were following us every step of the way − it's scary. It's scary," she told the station.
Five gunshots were fired during the robbery, the Miami Herald reported, citing Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies.
Ring camera caught shooting on video
Chambliss said the two men surrounded her and Delacruz's car and demanded money, WTVT reported.
"I ran and I fell in the door and the other guy came out and shot me again for the third time in my left leg," Delacruz told the TV station.
Ring camera footage captured the entire situation, even showing Delacruz being shot in both legs before pleading to the masked men who were standing over him, according to WTVT. The men drove away once the couple's neighbors walked outside.
The couple stayed at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for several hours and left after Delacruz won $3,300 on a slot machine and cashed out, the Miami Herald reported, citing the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
'We're just average people'
Investigators arrested Jenkins and Wright after surveillance video showed them watching the couple at the casino in Tampa, Florida for two hours before following them home, WTVT reported.
The attack happened on the one night a month the couple makes time for a date. "We don't get to do it often just because we both work extremely hard," Chambliss told the station.
Delacruz said he is "normally aware" of his surroundings or "would notice if someone was following" him, the TV station reported.
"We've always felt safe in our home. Safe in the neighborhood," Chambliss said. "To have that taken away (is) to have just such an insecure feeling."
veryGood! (3)
Related
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- NFL overreactions Week 9: Raiders should trade Maxx Crosby as race for No. 1 pick heats up
- How Travis Kelce does with and without Taylor Swift attending Kansas City Chiefs games
- As NFL trade deadline nears, Ravens' need for pass rusher is still glaring
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Fantasy football buy low, sell high: 10 trade targets for Week 10
- Georgia authorities probe weekend shooting that left 2 dead, officer injured
- Severe storms, tornadoes rock Oklahoma; thousands remain without power: Updates
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- IRS raises 401(k) contribution limits, adds super catch-up for 60-63 year olds in 2025
Ranking
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- 2 Ohio officers charged with reckless homicide in April death of Frank Tyson
- Kourtney Kardashian Shares Photos of Baby Rocky's First Birthday Party Celebrations
- Pennsylvania election officials weighing in on challenges to 4,300 mail ballot applications
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Horoscopes Today, November 4, 2024
- Ice-T, Michael Caine pay tribute to Quincy Jones
- Federal agencies say Russia and Iran are ramping up influence campaigns targeting US voters
Recommendation
Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
Surfer bit by shark off Hawaii coast, part of leg severed in attack
Make your own peanut butter cups at home with Reese's new deconstructed kits
Are banks, post offices, UPS and FedEx open on Election Day? Here's what we know
Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
Manslaughter charges dropped in a man’s death at a psychiatric hospital
Travis Kelce Shares Heartwarming Moment With Taylor Swift's Brother Austin at Eras Concert
Wisconsin Senate race pits Trump-backed millionaire against Democratic incumbent