Couple was followed home from Hard Rock Casino, ambushed and shot after hitting jackpot

TAMPA, Florida. – A date night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino made a Riverview couple the target of violent robbers.

Hillsborough County officials arrested two men for following the couple home from the casino, then ambushing them in their driveway, robbing them and shooting them both.

The horrific ordeal was captured on video from the Ring doorbell.

“I heard another shot and my first thought was, ‘They killed him.’ I was hysterical, screaming and crying,” said Kim Chambliss.

Chambliss and her boyfriend Val Delacruz had just returned home from a date when two masked men surrounded their car and demanded money.

“I ran and fell in the door, and the other guy came out and shot me in the left leg for the third time,” Delacruz said.

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Video captured the chilling moments as Delacruz, who was shot in both legs, pleaded with the suspects standing over him. He said a neighbor came outside and the two men drove away.

Investigators arrested Marcus Jenkins and Tristin Wright. Surveillance video shows the duo watching the couple at the Hard Rock Casino. Investigators told the couple that the suspects watched them for two hours and then followed them all the way back to Riverview.

“We’re just normal people having fun, loving each other and enjoying each other’s company. And we didn’t even realize that people were following us everywhere we went. That’s scary. That’s scary,” Chambliss said.

“How many people do they do this to?” Delacruz said.

The evening had started as their monthly date night.

“We don’t get to do it often because we both work extremely hard.”

The couple ended the evening at the Hard Rock. Val joked that he had to win back the money for dinner and drinks.

“I was lucky and hit the jackpot. And you know, I danced,” Delacruz said.

He celebrated the win and the couple cashed out about $3,000 and then drove home.

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“Normally, I am aware of my surroundings and would notice if someone was following me. But that evening, we were deep in conversation,” said Val.

The couple said police officers saved Val’s life by quickly applying a tourniquet to him. He had a penetrating wound to his right thigh.

“I lost so much blood, if they hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have made it,” Delacruz said.

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Val is now in unbearable pain and can no longer walk. Doctors say it could be another six months. He missed taking his son to his first day of school.

“I couldn’t even accompany him to second grade,” Delacruz said.

The suspects stole Val’s watch and jewelry as well as Kim’s purse, but the couple said they stole much more.

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“We always felt safe in our home. Safe in the neighborhood. To have that taken away from us made us feel so unsafe,” Chambliss said.

HCSO investigators are still working to identify the third suspect.

Jenkins faces a variety of charges, including attempted first-degree murder. Investigators say Wright was the driver. He also faces a number of other charges, including solicitation of attempted murder.

Val owns her own company and as you can imagine, it’s difficult to work there. Plus, medical bills are piling up. To help cover the costs, they’ve started a fundraiser.

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