Poker game ends in triple homicide
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According to a report published by the Gainesville Sun, suspected cheating in a private poker game may have been the motive behind the slaying of three men this weekend.
Duane Demaris Crittenden II was arrested by police on Sunday and charged with the murders of Jerome Anthony Henry, Richard David Smith and Robert Erwin Ford. Excerpt from the Sun story:
The owner of a building at 108 Carver St. found the three men dead at the location just outside the Palatka city limits Saturday morning. Jerome Anthony Henry, 48, of Seville, and Richard David Smith and Robert Erwin Ford, both 50 and from Palatka, were killed inside the structure, a former bar that officers said people had been using as the location for a “high-stakes” poker game.
All four men had been involved in the game, which started Friday afternoon and continued through the night, said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Major Keith Riddick.
Crittenden had been in the game and lost, officers reported.
“We understand that he felt that they were cheating, and he went back apparently to confront them about that,” Riddick said.
The men were last seen alive between 8 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. Saturday, Riddick said. Investigators believe the confrontation occurred between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. All three victims were shot in the head and neck area, Riddick said. Henry and Smith were both shot once. Ford had been shot twice and stabbed.
