Current:Home > StocksA Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them. -Zenith Profit Hub
A Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them.
View
Date:2025-04-16 10:58:34
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! (597)
Related
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Net-Zero Energy Homes Pay Off Faster Than You Think—Even in Chilly Midwest
- Floods and Climate Change
- Book excerpt: American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- For a City Staring Down the Barrel of a Climate-Driven Flood, A New Study Could be the Smoking Gun
- Get a $28 Deal on $141 Worth of Peter Thomas Roth Face Masks Before This Flash Price Disappears
- Summer job market proving strong for teens
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- All the Books to Read ASAP Before They Become Your Next TV or Movie Obsession
Ranking
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- In the Sunbelt, Young Climate Activists Push Cities to Cut Emissions, Whether Their Mayors Listen or Not
- JoJo Siwa Details How Social Media Made Her Coming Out Journey Easier
- EPA Finds Black Americans Face More Health-Threatening Air Pollution
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Yellen lands in Beijing for high-stakes meetings with top Chinese officials
- Uzo Aduba Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby With Husband Robert Sweeting
- 100% Renewable Energy Needs Lots of Storage. This Polar Vortex Test Showed How Much.
Recommendation
Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
Jennifer Lawrence Reveals Which Movie of Hers She Wants to Show Her Baby Boy Cy
Marathon Reaches Deal with Investors on Human Rights. Standing Rock Hoped for More.
Nordstrom Rack Has Up to 80% Off Deals on Summer Sandals From Vince Camuto, Dolce Vita & More
Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
John Berylson, Millwall Football Club owner, dead at 70 in Cape Cod car crash
For a City Staring Down the Barrel of a Climate-Driven Flood, A New Study Could be the Smoking Gun
Giant Icebergs Are Headed for South Georgia Island. Scientists Are Scrambling to Catch Up