Sentence relates to murder of man found by hunter in Barry County forest

A California man was sentenced recently to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for aiding and abetting the kidnapping and murder of a northwest Arkansas man.

The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing, which was held in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.

According to court documents, in November 2021, the defendant, Daniel Paul Blanks, 46, of Fort Smith, Ark., and his co-defendant, Reginald Baker, 37, drove to the Springdale, Ark., apartment of Richard Phillips. Per witnesses, the men, armed with a shotgun, forcefully entered Phillips’ apartment, assaulted and beat him, and then dragged his unconscious body down the exterior staircase of the apartment complex and placed him in the back of Blanks’ truck bed.

Blanks and Baker then transported Phillips from Arkansas to the Mark Twain National Park in Barry County, where Blanks shot Phillips numerous times. Phillips’ body lay undiscovered for several days until a hunter located him in a heavily wooded logging road north of Seligman.

According to court documents, a girl who was reported missing the day before the attack and was calling and sending pictures of Phillips’ apartment was located in Seligman, and she told Blanks and Baker that Phillips was present at a birthday party she attended the month before. She said Phillips had sexually abused her when she was 6 years old, and she was still dis- traught from the assault.

At that time, Blanks and Baker became upset and Baker grabbed a knife to attack Phillips, but the girl was able to talk him out of it.

On Nov. 29, 2021, both Blanks and Baker were charged in the Circuit Court of Washington County, Ark., with capital murder, kidnapping, and residential burglary.

On April 5, 2024, Baker pleaded guilty in Washington County Circuit Court to accomplice to murder in the 1st degree, accomplice to kidnapping, and accomplice to residential burglary. He was sentenced to a total of 60 years imprisonment.

On October 25, 2024, in federal court, Blanks entered a guilty plea to aiding and abetting kidnapping resulting in death. On April 23, he was sentenced to life in prison.

During the sentencing hearing, the Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks cited Blanks’ affiliation with white supremacist groups as an aggravating factor supporting the imposition of a life sentence.

This case involving Daniel Blanks was prosecuted in cooperation with the 4th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

U.S. Attorney Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

The Springdale Police Department, Barry County Sheriff’s Office, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the Bentonville Police Department, and the Arkansas Office of Probation and Parole all investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Roberts prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website at www.pacer.gov.