Currently
37°
Fog

Advertisement





News

CLASSIFIEDS


Advertisement


Free Ad

Place an ad
in print and online, 24/7 for free, select the Clean Sweep option. Unable to submit Real Estate, Services, and Business Investements at this time.

Get a Subscription


Map the Valley


Subscriber/
Reader Services

Subscribe Now
Contact Customer Service



Co-workers recall man killed in altercation

Business continued as usual Monday at Liberty Chrysler on Lacey Boulevard, as technicians and fellow employees worked to service a constant stream of automobiles. But under the surface, the air hung heavy for these workers, just two days after a late night fight in Armona led to the death of 27-year-old Robert Blancett, a parts advisor for the business.

"Everybody is quiet," said technician Ernesto Cabrera, looking down as he spoke about his former co-worker. "It is so quiet here. He was everybody's friend, you know? People are taking it pretty hard."

Known as "Robbie" to his friends, Blancett is described as being friendly and kind, the sort of person who would go to any length to help a person in need.

"I know everyone says this, but he would literally take the shirt off his back and give it to you," service advisor Frank Volpe said. "I know everyone says that about a person something tragic happens to, but he was always kindly. He would stop at the side of the road to help you.

"Now his children are without a dad."

He leaves behind three children, two girls and a boy, according to his co-workers.

"I just don't believe it, it's unbelievable," said friend and former co-worker Anthony Brault. "This was the kind of guy whose family came first and his friends loved him. He would do anything for anyone and he is somebody you don't want to lose. I can't believe this would happen to a guy as nice as him."

For the people he left behind, Blancett's traces are everywhere. His picture is posted on the wall. His business card sits on display at the parts counter. The memories of how he greeted every day are felt by all.

"I can't imagine what his family is going through, because it has been incredibly hard for us," parts manager Mike Jacobs said. "He made it fun to work here. This job can be a very stressful environment, so he made it easy for us to enjoy ourselves. Now you walk around and you see things that belonged to him, and it just doesn't feel real."

Just before his death on Oct. 11, Blancett received a promotion that would have brought with it a higher degree of responsibility and a higher income. This Thursday would have marked his six-year anniversary working at Liberty Chrysler.

"Robbie was one of those guys that made coming into work worthwhile," service manager Brandon LaMattino said. "He was a fun, happy-go-lucky guy. Every day, he came in with the same attitude and the same smile on his face. If you screwed up your paperwork, he'd say, 'well, it's twice as much work for me, but no big deal.'

"As a manager, you get someone who is good at their job, willing to show up and work on time every day, and that is incredibly hard to replace. Not just as an employee, but as a friend."

Blancett was killed on Saturday night while visiting a friend's home in the 14900 block of Hanford-Armona Road. What was originally reported to be a party held at the home was later determined by law enforcement officials to be a gathering of individuals to help a friend move. Alcohol was found on the scene and investigators say that an altercation broke out just after 9 p.m.

Reports from unconfirmed sources say that Blancett may have been stabbed while trying to protect a woman who was present when the fight occurred. Others state that he was attacked while trying to break up a fight involving the suspect, 27-year-old Taylor Ray Gallespie.

A funeral date is not yet scheduled, pending an autopsy by the Kings County Coroner's Office.

"Today is reality for me," LaMattino said. "Today is walking to the parts counter and he's not standing there with a smile and a comment for you. It's a whole different world now."

The reporter can be reached at 583-2425.

(Oct. 14, 2008)

POST A COMMENT

 

Hanfordsentinel.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed, particularly if they are posted after normal office hours.

We reserve the right to remove comments in total that violate our code of conduct. If you want to report a violation, please e-mail editor@HanfordSentinel.com

For more information please read our Terms of use, and Rules of the Road.

 


Please log in to post comments
*Member ID:
*Password:
  Forgot Your Password?
 
If you don't have an account you can create one for free by clicking the link below.
CREATE ACCOUNT
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the views of the Hanford Sentinel

mommyme wrote on Oct 14, 2008 4:29 PM:

" These tragedies hurt everyone. A senseless death makes no sense. Murder is becoming the norm in our community and it STINKS!!!!! "

Evan s Gray wrote on Oct 14, 2008 4:56 PM:

" Rob you are my brother.
I will never be able to get over this tragedy.
There is anger and sorrow in my heart.
I can just look back to the last time I talked with him the week before. He was planning a trip to my house at the end of the month. He was talking to me about some issues that had been taking place in my life and as he always did he was holding my head. Even though we were talking over the phone I could feel his love in his words of encouragement. "

Evan s Gray wrote on Oct 14, 2008 4:56 PM:

" The Words Others say about him giving his shirt off his back are not just a statement. This is the truth. As teenagers he was there for his family his friends and others and as adults he shared his food off his plate and his clothes off his back.
We strive as humans to have a very diverse language to say anything we can imagine. But I could search forever and there will never be the words to describe Rob nor the way this tragedy will affect us all.

Rob I Love You. I will yell it to the Heavens! "

CONCERNED wrote on Oct 14, 2008 6:56 PM:

" TO THE BLANCETT FAMILY: YOU ARE IN MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS, I DID NOT KNOW ROB, BUT NOT ONLY DID HIS CHILDREN LOOSE THEIR FATHER, BUT TAYLOR HAS A WIFE AND A 10 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AS WELL. TAYLOR IS NOT A BAD PERSON, HE WAS PUT IN A BAD SITUATION AND WAS DEFENDING HIMSELF FROM 3 GUYS. TAYLORS THE TYPE OF PERSON THAT WOULD HELP ANY OF HIS FRIENDS IF THEY NEEDED IT, NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
I LOVE YOU TAYLOR! "

Bridget Serchio wrote on Oct 15, 2008 10:30 AM:

" To CONCERNED, Thank you for your prayers, but please do not try to justifiy what was done to Rob. In every way it was wrong. I have had to explain to my children why this man was taken out of thier lives and for the rest of thiers I will try to make sure thier hearts carry no hate. If you need to believe selfdefence to make you feel better fine, keep it to yourself though. "

whitey wrote on Oct 15, 2008 2:29 PM:

" to concerned:

People at the party said that rob was defending a woman who was getting beat up by a guy. So, was it taylor that was giving the lashing to the girl? why else would he have to defend himself against 3 guys. "

Hmmmmmm wrote on Oct 15, 2008 6:23 PM:

" And yet another account of the evening is that two girls started it with their fighting, then the guys got in on it. Seems like there is a lot of blame to be passed around. Everyone involved needs to be charged and taught a good harsh lesson. Rob would still be alive if all of these young adults had not acted like drunken fools. My heart goes out to Rob's family, he surely didn't deserve to die. "

mistyconger wrote on Oct 17, 2008 2:55 PM:

" I HAVE TO AGREE WITH CONCERNED. I ALSO KNOW TAYLOR AND I DON'T FEEL THAT HE DESERVES TO SPEND LIFE IN PRISON. I DO BELIVE THE WHOLE THING JUST GOT OUT OF HAND. IF THE TABLES WERE TURNED AND TAYLOR WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE TO PASS THEN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ROB THAT WAS THE BAD GUY. WE ARE ALL SUFFERING A LOSS SO WHY POINT FINGERS. I LOVE YA TAYLOR AND YOUR FAMILY, "BLANCETTS IM SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS AND YOUR IN MY PRAYERS "

friend wrote on Oct 19, 2008 1:30 PM:

" from a great friend i lost a brother there is no one to blame for this pointless situation out of great respect for my fallen brother best friend hero please just remember him and just stop the hate violence blame and just have peace as rob would have wished i love u rob see u in heaven "

navyvb wrote on Oct 23, 2008 11:45 AM:

" I don't know either one of these men. I don't know anyone involved either, but some of these comments are sickening.

This man LOST HIS LIFE, and friends and family of the murderer have the audacity to comment here? It doesn't really matter HOW it happened. Rob's kids won't ever see their father again. At least the Taylor's family can still see and speak to him through plexiglass and a two way telephone. It's not right to even say "if" it was the other way around, because ... IT WASN'T! Go start a blog about your friend Taylor somewhere else. This article wasn't dedicated to him, it was dedicated to Rob. "




Advertisement


HOT TOPICS

> More Hot Topics


SENTINEL BLOGS

Going All-in by Richard de Give

Shout-outs for the Bullpups!

Thought we’d change things up a little bit to let all of you in cyberland send your best wishes to Hanford High’s football team as it gets ready for Friday’s Central Section Division III championship game. The Bullpups (12-1) are in the title game for the first time since 1982, and this Friday’s title game [...]

Daydream Island by Shannon Milliken

38 Things

I know, I know. It’s been a long time. But I’m back on the blogs again and thanks to my coverage of education I’ve got something to say in light of tomorrow’s holiday. (haha, I rhyme, and get ready, because this is going to be cheesy). So, in school, the teachers typically have their students write [...]

Sentinel Online by Josh Parrish

Sentinel Photo Galleries

You might have noticed we just launched our new photo gallery section.  Not only will you get to sift through multiple new galleries every week from our excellent photographers, Apolinar Fonseca and Gary Feinstein, but you will be able to look at local readers’ photos as well. Enthusiasts, parents with a camera, or anyone else can [...]

Going All-in by Richard de Give

Fearful Football Forecast: Week 12

Are some of these leagues getting so predictable that even I can predict them right? I was just doing last week’s totals and can’t believe I again nailed just about all of them. The one miss, the Cowboys, of course. I generally haven’t fared well in these things at other papers, seriously! 13-1 again, now [...]

Publisher's Desk by Randy Rickman

How Obama Got Elected

We have all heard about media bias and its alleged effect on the outcome of the recent election. This topic was brought up in another blog community and we discussed it to death. One of my colleagues sent me a link to a website that features a video taped on election day. The video features twelve Obama voters that were [...]

> More Blogs


MORE LOCAL NEWS

Lemoore:

Selma:

Kingsburg:



EMAIL UPDATES

Sign up today to get all your local headlines delivered to your home or work e-mail address, so you don't miss the latest in breaking and local news.
E-Mail:
Daily News Updates
Breaking News Alerts