TAMPA, FLA. (WSVN) - A couple from the Tampa area was ambushed outside their front door where two men followed them home after they hit the jackpot at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
The alarming ambush was caught on the homeowner’s doorbell camera with the sounds of screams and gunfire in the background. Both of them were shot by the masked men demanding money.
In the video, Val Delacruz, who was shot in both legs, was seen lying on the floor pleading with the suspects who were towering over him with two guns.
One of the suspects can be heard yelling “Money”. The other suspect proceeded to cover the camera.
A neighbor heard the commotion and came outside causing the men to run back to their car and drive away.
Delacruz is in unbearable pain and unable to walk. Doctors say it could take up to six months before he’s able to do so.
“I can’t even sleep,” said Delacruz in an interview with FOX13.
His girlfriend, Kim Chambliss, was shot in her calf.
The couple say Thursday, Aug. 1, started as their monthly date night.
“We don’t get to do it often just because we both work extremely hard,” said Chambliss.
After dinner and drinks, the couple capped off their night at the casino.
“I hit and I got a jackpot. And, you know, I was dancing,” said Delacruz.
Not ones to press their luck, the couple cashed out with roughly $3,000 and drove to their Riverview home.
Investigators say the two suspects, Marcus Jenkins and Tristin Wright, watched the couple the whole time.
“We’re just average people, you know, who are out having a good time, you know, who love each other and enjoying each other’s company. 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,” said Chambliss.
“How many people would they do that to?” said Delacruz.
Arrest affidavits show the suspects followed the couple throughout the casino and to their home.
“We’ve always felt safe in our home. Safe in the neighborhood. Every, you know, to have that taken away, to have, just such an insecure feeling,” said Chambliss.
Both Jenkins and Wright face a list of charges, including attempted first-degree murder and principal to attempted murder.
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