Current:Home > reviewsA Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them. -VitalEdge Finance Pro
A Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them.
View
Date:2025-04-12 17:37:57
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! (47)
Related
- $1 Frostys: Wendy's celebrates end of summer with sweet deal
- After 38 years on the job, Santa Luke still has time for everyone. Yes, you too
- After 38 years on the job, Santa Luke still has time for everyone. Yes, you too
- Mexican business group says closure of US rail border crossings costing $100 million per day
- FBI: California woman brought sword, whip and other weapons into Capitol during Jan. 6 riot
- An author gets in way over his head in 'American Fiction'
- North Korea’s Kim again threatens use of nukes as he praises troops for long-range missile launch
- North Carolina governor commutes prisoner’s sentence, pardons four ex-offenders
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- Federal agency wants to fine Wisconsin sawmill $1.4 million for violations found after teen’s death
Ranking
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- Judge threatens to dismiss lawsuit from Arkansas attorney general in prisons dispute
- Oprah's Done with the Shame. The New Weight Loss Drugs.
- North Korea’s Kim again threatens use of nukes as he praises troops for long-range missile launch
- What polling shows about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ new running mate
- Oregon's drug decriminalization law faces test amid fentanyl crisis
- US senator’s son faces new charges in crash that killed North Dakota sheriff’s deputy
- Wisconsin man sentenced for causing creation and distribution of video showing monkey being tortured
Recommendation
NCAA hits former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh with suspension, show-cause for recruiting violations
Teen who planned Ohio synagogue attack must write book report on WWII hero who saved Jews
Honda recalls 106,000 CR-V hybrid SUVs because of potential fire risk. Here's what to know.
Survivor Season 45 Crowns Its Winner
House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
Arizona lawmaker Athena Salman resigning at year’s end, says she will join an abortion rights group
'You see where that got them': Ja Morant turned boos into silence in return to Grizzlies
After 2 grisly killings, a small Nebraska community wonders if any place is really safe