Man Kills 3 Over Poker Game

The man that was charged with shooting and killing and three met at a private poker game in Palatka over the weekend believed that he had been cheated during the contest, deputies reported.

Officers arrested Duane Demarus Crittenden II (28), of Palatka, in Marion County on Sunday morning on three charges of first degree murder, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office reported.  The owner of the building at 108 Carver st. first discovered the three dead men at the location that is just outside Palatka city limits on Saturday morning.

Jerome Anthony Henry (48) of Seville, Robert Erwin Ford (50) and Richard David Smith (50) both of Palatka were all killed inside what was a former bar that officers said that people had been using as a location for high stakes poker games.

All of the four men had been involved in the game that had started on Friday afternoon and continued throughout the night, said Sheriff's office spokesman Major Keith Riddick. 

Crittenden had also been in the game and lost, officers reported.  The men were last seen alive between 8 and 8:45am on Saturday, and investigators believe that the confrontation probably occurred between 9 and 9:30am.

“We understand that he felt that they were cheating, and he went back apparently to confront them about that,” Riddick said.  All three victims were shot in the head and neck area, Henry and Smith were both shot once but Ford had been shot twice and also stabbed.  According to deputies Crittenden also left with money taken from the game but investigators don't know how much.