Current:Home > reviewsA Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them. -PureWealth Academy
A Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them.
View
Date:2025-04-16 02:41:16
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! (74)
Related
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- What Americans think about Hegseth, Gabbard and key Trump Cabinet picks AP
- A Malibu wildfire prompts evacuation orders and warnings for 20,000, including Dick Van Dyke, Cher
- KISS OF LIFE reflects on sold
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- Singaporean killed in Johor expressway crash had just paid mum a surprise visit in Genting
- Through 'The Loss Mother's Stone,' mothers share their grief from losing a child to stillbirth
- ParkMobile $32.8 million settlement: How to join class
- A steeplechase record at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Then a proposal. (He said yes.)
- I loved to hate pop music, until Chappell Roan dragged me back
Ranking
- FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
- Supreme Court allows investors’ class action to proceed against microchip company Nvidia
- Drew Barrymore has been warned to 'back off' her guests after 'touchy' interviews
- GM to retreat from robotaxis and stop funding its Cruise autonomous vehicle unit
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- Beyoncé will perform halftime during NFL Christmas Day Game: Here's what to know
- Hate crime charges dropped against 12 college students arrested in Maryland assault
- When is the 'Survivor' Season 47 finale? Here's who's left; how to watch and stream part one
Recommendation
PHOTO COLLECTION: AP Top Photos of the Day Wednesday August 7, 2024
Singaporean killed in Johor expressway crash had just paid mum a surprise visit in Genting
Lil Durk suspected of funding a 2022 murder as he seeks jail release in separate case
Our 12 favorites moments of 2024
Olympic disqualification of gold medal hopeful exposes 'dark side' of women's wrestling
Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single
KISS OF LIFE reflects on sold
Video shows drone spotted in New Jersey sky as FBI says it is investigating