Current:Home > ContactA Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them. -ProfitLogic
A Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them.
View
Date:2025-04-12 22:46:28
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! (496)
Related
- North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
- Nacho fries return to Taco Bell for longest run yet with new Secret Aardvark sauce
- NBA playoff games today: How to watch, predictions for Game 1s on Saturday
- West Virginia will not face $465M COVID education funds clawback after feds OK waiver, governor says
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- 'The Jinx' Part 2: Release date, time, where to watch new episodes of Robert Durst docuseries
- Recently arrested Morgan Wallen says he’s “not proud” of behavior
- Melania Trump, long absent from campaign, will appear at a Log Cabin Republicans event in Mar-a-Lago
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- Record numbers in the US are homeless. Can cities fine them for sleeping in parks and on sidewalks?
Ranking
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Nacho fries return to Taco Bell for longest run yet with new Secret Aardvark sauce
- Can you use hyaluronic acid with retinol? A dermatologist breaks it down.
- Melania Trump, long absent from campaign, will appear at a Log Cabin Republicans event in Mar-a-Lago
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Taylor Swift breaks Spotify records for most-streamed album, most-streamed artist in a single day
- Trader Joe’s basil recall: Maps show states affected by salmonella, recalled product
- Autoworkers union celebrates breakthrough win in Tennessee and takes aim at more plants in the South
Recommendation
NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
Longtime ESPNer Howie Schwab, star of 'Stump the Schwab' sports trivia show, dies at 63
Theater Review: ‘Stereophonic’ is a brilliant ‘Behind the Music’ play on Broadway
Kansas has a new anti-DEI law, but the governor has vetoed bills on abortion and even police dogs
Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
London Marathon pays tribute to last year’s winner Kelvin Kiptum, who died in car crash
Beyoncé's 'II Hands II Heaven': Drea Kelly says her viral dance now has 'a life of its own'
WADA says 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive before Tokyo Olympics but it accepted contamination finding