David Clay Fowlkes, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas
A California man, Daniel Paul Blanks, has been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for his involvement in the kidnapping and murder of a resident from Northwest Arkansas. The ruling was made by Judge Timothy L. Brooks at the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.
Court documents state that Blanks, aged 46, and an accomplice, Reginald Baker, aged 37, forcibly entered a Springdale apartment in November 2021. Armed with a shotgun, they assaulted the resident and kidnapped him, transporting the unconscious victim to Mark Twain National Park in Missouri, where Blanks shot him multiple times. The body was found days later by a hunter.
Charges against Blanks and Baker for Capital Murder, Kidnapping, and Residential Burglary were filed on November 29, 2021. Baker pleaded guilty in April 2024 to accomplice charges and received a 60-year prison sentence. Blanks pleaded guilty to Aiding and Abetting Kidnapping Resulting in Death in federal court in October 2024.
Judge Timothy L. Brooks highlighted Blanks' ties to white supremacist groups as an aggravating factor in the life sentence decision. The case was prosecuted in collaboration with the 4th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and the announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas.
The investigation involved various police and sheriff's departments, including the Springdale Police Department and the Barry County Missouri Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Roberts represented the United States in the prosecution.
