Because 34 year old Frankie Bell Jr. of Houston was convicted of capital murder and prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, Bell was automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing Dominque and Terant Franklin.
No date has been set for the trial of co-defendant Marcos Ray of College Station, who is charged with murder.
News release from the Brazos County district attorney’s office:
Frankie Bell, Jr. was found guilty of Capital Murder on September 29, 2022. The jury heard testimony for two days. The guilty verdict in this case resulted in an automatic sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
On October 3, 2017 multiple men converged on 1506 Frankfort St., in Bryan. The men wore masks, carried guns, and were demanding money and narcotics. Tarrant Franklin and Dominique Franklin were home at the time and were forced at gunpoint to lay face down in their living room. These men also forced another male and female that were in the home to lay on the floor.
After robbing the men and burglarizing the home, Tarrant and Dominique were shot and killed. David Jenkins was shot and almost died from his injuries, but was saved by a Bryan Police Officer that arrived first on scene by using combat medical skills learned in the Army.
After the murder, Mr. Bell called a family member and was given a ride shortly after the capital murder. During that ride, he admitted he had killed the two men because his mask began to fall off.
Bryan police detectives were finally able to develop Mr. Bell as a suspect after an anonymous tip. The tipster eventually was found and cooperated with the police.
Using that information police gathered evidence that placed the defend-ant’s cell phone near the scene at the time and connected him with the other suspect. Phone records and cell phone data put both Mr. Bell and his accomplice in the same place over the corresponding time of the murders. That data then showed Mr. Bell fleeing the area and going to Houston.
A warrant was issued and the hunt for Mr. Bell began. It took over 2 months and the help of the United States Marshals Service to finally apprehend the defendant.
The defendant had previously been sentenced to 12 years for a shooting in 2005 when he was 18 years old. The defendant had only been out of prison a few months when he robbed and executed the victims at close range.
The Bryan Police Department investigated the case and College Station Police provided invaluable assistance.
Assistant district attorneys Brian Baker and Brian Price issued the following statement: “Frankie Bell left death and destruction in his wake on October 3, 2017. He destroyed a family and robbed this community of the feeling of safety when he executed two men in cold blood. Life in Prison without Parole is justice in this case.”