Current:Home > InvestA Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them. -Momentum Wealth Path
A Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them.
View
Date:2025-04-14 16:19:39
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! (142)
Related
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Chipotle announces 50-for-1 stock split. Here's what investors need to know.
- Apple has kept an illegal monopoly over smartphones in US, Justice Department says in antitrust suit
- U.S. looks at Haiti evacuation options as Americans and Haitians hope to escape gang violence
- Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
- Panel urged to move lawsuit to state court that seeks shutdown of part of aging pipeline in Michigan
- Chick-fil-A adds 6 pizza items to menu at test kitchen restaurant: Here's what to know
- Review: '3 Body Problem' is way more than 'Game of Thrones' with aliens
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Average long-term US mortgage rate climbs back to nearly 7% after two-week slide
Ranking
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Why Jim Nantz isn't calling any March Madness games this year
- U.S. hits Apple with landmark antitrust suit, accusing tech giant of stifling competition
- NFL's bid to outlaw hip-drop tackles is slippery slope
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- The US may catch a spring break on weather. Forecasters see minimal flooding and drought for spring
- Arizona has struggled in the NCAA Tournament. Can it shake it off with trip to Final Four?
- Attorneys try to stop DeSantis appointees from giving depositions in Disney lawsuit
Recommendation
From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
Shakira Shares How 11-Year-Old Son Milan Processed Her Split From Gerard Piqué
Biden and Trump vie for Latino support with very different pitches
About 70 dogs killed after 'puppy mill' bursts into flames in Ohio, reports say
House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
Tyler Kolek is set to return from oblique injury for No. 2 seed Marquette in NCAA Tournament
Stuck at home during COVID-19, Gen Z started charities
Will March Madness produce mascot mayhem? Some schools have history of bad behavior