Charles Edward Blanks, 51, was fatally shot on June 23, 2024, on the 400 block of Arden Way in Old North Sacramento. Responding officers found him with a gunshot wound and he was pronounced dead at the scene; the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office later confirmed his identity.

Police arrested two teenage suspects in the days after the shooting: a 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy, each taken into custody on suspicion of robbery and murder. Investigators believe a robbery was occurring at the time, and that Blanks may have been targeted during that crime.

Blanks was born January 15, 1973, in Laurel, Mississippi, and later lived in Sacramento. His family remembers him as a devoted father, brother, and grandfather who loved the Pittsburgh Steelers and was known for quiet independence and resilience.

If anyone saw activity on Arden Way around June 23 or has information about the robbery and shooting, please come forward to help investigators.