Current:Home > MyA Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them. -Aspire Money Growth
A Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them.
View
Date:2025-04-20 08:14:27
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! (84757)
Related
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- Rob Kardashian Makes Subtle Return to The Kardashians in Honor of Daughter Dream
- Biden administration unveils new U.S. Cyber Trust Mark consumer label for smart home devices
- Some will starve, many may die, U.N. warns after Russia pulls out of grain deal
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- Save 30% on the TikTok-Loved Grande Cosmetics Lash Serum With 29,900+ 5-Star Reviews on Prime Day 2023
- California Enters ‘Uncharted Territory’ After Cutting Payments to Rooftop Solar Owners by 75 Percent
- Nina Dobrev Recalls Wild Experience Growing Up in the Public Eye Amid Vampire Diaries Fame
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- Increasingly Large and Intense Wildfires Hinder Western Forests’ Ability to Regenerate
Ranking
- Who's hosting 'Saturday Night Live' tonight? Musical guest, how to watch Dec. 14 episode
- Selena Gomez's Sister Proves She's Taylor Swift's Biggest Fan With Speak Now-Inspired Hair Transformation
- Encina Chemical Recycling Plant in Pennsylvania Faces Setback: One of its Buildings Is Too Tall
- Teen Mom 2's Nathan Griffith Arrested for Battery By Strangulation
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- Boat crashes into Lake of the Ozarks home, ejecting passengers and injuring 8
- Some will starve, many may die, U.N. warns after Russia pulls out of grain deal
- Star player Zhang Shuai quits tennis match after her opponent rubs out ball mark in disputed call
Recommendation
Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
Robert De Niro's Girlfriend Tiffany Chen Diagnosed With Bell's Palsy After Welcoming Baby Girl
Save 30% on the TikTok-Loved Grande Cosmetics Lash Serum With 29,900+ 5-Star Reviews on Prime Day 2023
Activists Rally at Illinois Capitol, Urging Lawmakers to Pass 9 Climate and Environmental Bills
Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
To Reduce Mortality From High Heat in Cities, a New Study Recommends Trees
This Secret About Timothée Chalamet’s Willy Wonka Casting Proves He Had a Golden Ticket
Western Firms Certified as Socially Responsible Trade in Myanmar Teak Linked to the Military Regime