California man sentenced to life without parole for kidnapping and murder of Arkansas resident

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – On April 22, 2025, U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks sentenced Daniel Paul Blanks, 46, of California, to life imprisonment without parole for Aiding and Abetting the Kidnapping and Murder of a Northwest Arkansas man.

The sentencing hearing took place in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.

Court records state that in November 2021, Blanks and his co-defendant, Reginald Baker, 37, drove to the victim’s Springdale apartment. Armed with a shotgun, they forcibly entered, assaulted the resident, and dragged his unconscious body down an exterior staircase to Blanks’ truck bed.

The pair then transported the victim to Mark Twain National Park in Barry County, Missouri, where Blanks shot him multiple times. The victim’s body was discovered days later by a hunter on a wooded logging road.

Blanks and Baker were charged on November 29, 2021, in Washington County Circuit Court with Capital Murder, Kidnapping, and Residential Burglary. On April 5, 2024, Baker pleaded guilty to Accomplice to Murder in the First Degree, Accomplice to Kidnapping, and Accomplice to Residential Burglary, receiving a 60-year sentence.

Blanks pleaded guilty to Aiding and Abetting Kidnapping Resulting in Death in federal court on October 25, 2024.

During sentencing, Judge Brooks cited Blanks’ ties to white supremacist groups as an aggravating factor justifying the life sentence.

The case was prosecuted in collaboration with the 4th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Roberts representing the United States.

U.S. Attorney Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas announced the sentencing.

The investigation involved the Springdale Police Department, Barry County Missouri Sheriff’s Office, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Bentonville Police Department, and Arkansas Office of Probation and Parole.

Court documents are available at www.pacer.gov.