TAMPA, FL — Two separate armed robbery investigations in less than two weeks have involved victims who first met the suspects at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, according to the Tampa Police Department and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
The first incident occurred during the early morning hours of July 23, 2026. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the victim met Angelina Johnson, 20, at the casino before returning to an Extended Stay America on East Sligh Avenue. Investigators say Johnson, along with Mario Dejournett, 22, and Tyrik Griffin, 22, confronted the victim in the hotel parking lot, where the two men displayed firearms and robbed him of his jewelry and wallet. All three suspects have since been arrested and charged with robbery with a firearm ($750 or more but less than $20,000).
The second incident occurred on August 1, 2026. Tampa Police said the victim met Benjamin Lopez and Anayaliz M. Dorsey-Criado at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino before giving Dorsey-Criado a ride to an apartment complex on Valentine Court. Investigators say Lopez was waiting near a stairwell armed with a handgun and demanded the victim’s money. The suspects allegedly fled with the victim’s cash and cellphone.
Lopez was arrested and charged with robbery with a firearm ($750 or more but less than $20,000), possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and third-degree grand theft. Dorsey-Criado was charged with robbery with a firearm ($750 or more but less than $20,000) and third-degree grand theft.
Although both robberies began after the victims met the suspects at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, authorities have not indicated the cases are connected. The incidents involved different victims, different suspects, occurred on separate dates, and were investigated by different law enforcement agencies.
SOURCE: HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE & TAMPA POLICE DEPARTMENT
