Current:Home > MyA Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them. -AdvancementTrade
A Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them.
View
Date:2025-04-13 05:09:46
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! (6262)
Related
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- The Best lululemon Father's Day Gifts for Every Kind of Dad
- Channing Tatum Shares Lesson He Learned About Boundaries While Raising Daughter Everly
- Blake Lively Reveals Ryan Reynolds' Buff Transformation in Spicy Photo
- Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
- Video: Dreamer who Conceived of the Largest Arctic Science Expedition in History Now Racing to Save it
- Woman allegedly shoots Uber driver, thinking he kidnapped her and was taking her to Mexico
- 6 Ways Andrew Wheeler Could Reshape Climate Policy as EPA’s New Leader
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $360 Reversible Tote Bag for Just $89
Ranking
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- Keystone XL Pipeline Hit with New Delay: Judge Orders Environmental Review
- Tribe Says Army Corps Stonewalling on Dakota Access Pipeline Report, Oil Spill Risk
- Arizona governor approves over-the-counter contraceptive medications at pharmacies
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- New York AG: Exxon Climate Fraud Investigation Nearing End
- Pregnant Chanel Iman Engaged to NFL Star Davon Godchaux
- Hundreds of Clean Energy Bills Have Been Introduced in States Nationwide This Year
Recommendation
2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
Luis Magaña Has Spent 20 Years Advocating for Farmworkers, But He’s Never Seen Anything Like This
Man, teenage stepson dead after hiking in extreme heat through Texas's Big Bend National Park
Iowa Republicans pass bill banning most abortions after about 6 weeks
A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
Taylor Hawkins' Son Shane Honors Dad by Performing With Foo Fighters Onstage
Skull found by California hunter in 1991 identified through DNA as remains of missing 4-year-old Derrick Burton
Succession's Sarah Snook Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby With Husband Dave Lawson