Current:Home > ScamsA Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them. -FinanceCore
A Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them.
View
Date:2025-04-17 18:27:23
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! (64211)
Related
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- Three members of Gospel Music Hall of Fame quartet The Nelons among 7 killed in Wyoming plane crash
- American Morelle McCane endured death of her brother during long road to Olympics
- How the Team USA vs. Australia swimming rivalry reignited before the 2024 Paris Olympics
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- Chiefs' Travis Kelce in his 'sanctuary' preparing for Super Bowl three-peat quest
- Fires in the West are becoming ever bigger, consuming. Why and what can be done?
- 2024 Paris Olympics in primetime highlights, updates: Ledecky, Brody Malone star
- Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
- US men's basketball looks to find 'another level' for Paris Olympics opener
Ranking
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Allegations left US fencers pitted against each other weeks before the Olympics
- One Extraordinary Photo: Charlie Riedel captures Simone Biles in flight at the Paris Games
- US men's basketball looks to find 'another level' for Paris Olympics opener
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Mixtapes
- Katie Ledecky wins 400 free bronze in her first Olympic final in Paris
- Ryan Reynolds Confirms Sex of His and Blake Lively’s 4th Baby
Recommendation
Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
Scuba divers rescued after 36 hours thanks to beacon spotted 15 miles off Texas coast
Three members of family gospel group The Nelons killed in Wyoming plane crash
Kevin Durant, LeBron James propel USA men's basketball in Olympic opening win over Serbia
South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
Andy Murray pulls off unbelievable Olympic doubles comeback with Dan Evans
Firefighters helped by cooler weather battle blaze that has scorched area size of Los Angeles
Why Alyssa Thomas’ Olympic debut for USA Basketball is so special: 'Really proud of her'