Poker Player Arrested at Texas Cardroom for Double-Murder

Benjamin Frakes
Image: Abc13.com

A Texas man was arrested while playing poker after being accused of killing his parents. Benjamin Frakes was charged with capital murder and was taken into custody at Doghouse Poker Club in Cypress, Texas.

The 39-year-old was in the midst of a poker session when he was arrested without incident in the Texas town near Houston. The Harris County authorities were on the hunt for a man wanted for the murder of 72-year-old Franklin Frakes and his 56-year-old Romanian-born wife, Florentina. The couple lived in Spring, Texas.

Their search led them to the Doghouse Poker Club, which is not the only Texas cardroom to have had an incident recently. Texas Card House was involved in a foiled counterfeit chip scheme. There was also a shooting murder incident at Texas Card House Austin back in 2018.

Authorities found two firearms in Frakes’ vehicle as he was taken in, while Frakes himself was in possession of cocaine, Oxycodone, and other unknown substances. He also appeared to have an injury on his leg as he was taken into police custody.

Neighbors questioned if a burglar could have committed the murders in the incident that occurred on May 15 when nearby houses heard gunshots. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the discovery was made on May 16 after a concerned neighbor checked on the couple at their home on Fitzwater Drive in the town of Spring.

One neighbor, Joshua Griffin, reportedly saw the married couple alive just hours before and described the setting to KHOU:

“They were out there watering their plants. Quiet night — that’s all it was. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

It is unclear when or how exactly the younger Frakes became a person of interest. But he was likely on the radar based on a previous criminal history with many drug arrests and a 2006 burglary conviction.

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Categorized as News, Poker

Jeffrey is an Expert Sports and Poker Writer with poker being his specific scope for the better part of five years. He has worked in various capacities at the biggest poker events in the world, WSOP, EPT, local tournaments and more. He has worked with PokerNews, Poker.Org, 888poker and the WSOP itself through the years. Jeff is also a fervent follower of many sports, professional, collegiate and international, with a particular interest in tennis. He received a Master's in Sports Management from the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) and a Bachelors in the same field from Clemson University.