Current:Home > ScamsA Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them. -Wealth Evolution Experts
A Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them.
View
Date:2025-04-14 23:43:36
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! (776)
Related
- Small twin
- Michael Hill and April Brown given expanded MLB roles following the death of Billy Bean
- Sean Diddy Combs Denied $50 Million Bond Proposal to Get Out of Jail After Sex Trafficking Arrest
- Fed rate cuts are coming. But will they be big or small? It's a gamble
- New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
- After shooting at Georgia high school, students will return next week for half-days
- Police shift focus in search for Kentucky highway shooting suspect: 'Boots on the ground'
- College Football Playoff bracketology: SEC, Big Ten living up to expectations
- Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
- Dancing With the Stars' Gleb Savchenko Shares Message to Artem Chigvintsev Amid Divorce
Ranking
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- MLB playoff bracket 2024: Wild card matchups, AL and NL top seeds for postseason
- Amazon announces dates for its October Prime Day sales
- Chiefs RB depth chart: How Isiah Pacheco injury, Kareem Hunt signing impacts KC backfield
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- Texans RB Joe Mixon calls on NFL to 'put your money where your mouth is' on hip-drop tackle
- National Cheeseburger Day 2024: Get deals at McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, more
- US nuclear repository is among the federally owned spots identified for renewable energy projects
Recommendation
Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
Why Deion Sanders believes Travis Hunter can still play both ways in NFL
Trail camera captures 'truly amazing' two-legged bear in West Virginia: Watch
Man who sold fentanyl-laced pill liable for $5.8 million in death of young female customer
Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
Iconic Tupperware Brands seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Tito Jackson hospitalized for medical emergency prior to death
Trail camera captures 'truly amazing' two-legged bear in West Virginia: Watch