A month after former Clemson wide receiver Diondre Overton was shot and killed at a party in Greensboro, N.C., authorities have made an arrest, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday.
According to a release from the department, detectives from Guilford’s major crimes investigative unit obtained a warrant for 20-year-old Jeremiah Diago Blanks for felony first-degree murder. Police traveled to Michigan and arrested Blanks in Detroit on Tuesday with the help of the U.S. Marshals Service. Blanks has been charged with felony first-degree murder. He is being held in the Oakland County jail in Pontiac, Mich., pending extradition, per the release.
Police also said the investigation is ongoing.
According to a previous news release from the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a call around 2:30 a.m. ET on Sept. 7 about “a loud party and noise disturbance.” While the deputies were en route, they were told a shooting had occurred, the release said. Overton was identified as the victim and, “despite immediate medical aid,” was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 26.
Overton, a beloved former receiver at Clemson, played for the Tigers from 2016 to 2019. He won two national titles with Clemson as a key reserve. Overton finished his Clemson career with 52 catches for 777 yards and seven touchdowns in 1,021 snaps played. In 2019, his final season, he was voted as a permanent team captain. He most recently played in the USFL and the UFL.
Clemson honored Overton on its Sept. 7 home game against Appalachian State by having quarterback Trent Pearman and safety Rob Billings run down the hill first in the Tigers’ famous stadium entrance. Both Pearman and Billings wear No. 14, Overton’s former jersey number with the Tigers.
Emotional stuff: During Tiger Walk just now, Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney stops, kneels and blows a kiss to Diondre Overton’s captain plaque. Overton, a former Tigers wide receiver, died at age 26, the team announced this morning pic.twitter.com/Be0K7vfzL7
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) September 7, 2024
“It’s hard to process something like this that’s so senseless,” Clemson coach Swinney said at the time of Overton’s death. “Just a beautiful, young life cut short at 26. But man I love Diondre Overton. He’s one of the best teammates that we’ve had come through here. He was here five years, two-time national champion, voted captain by his teammates.
Dabo Swinney was one of dozens of Clemson football players and coaches who attended former Tigers wide receiver Diondre Overton’s funeral yesterday in Greensboro. Here’s an opening snippet of the passionate, 12-min eulogy he gave on Overton: “He had a beautiful spirit” pic.twitter.com/hjRv93JOkC
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) September 20, 2024
“He truly was just one of the sweetest-spirited kids that we’ve had come through here and truly a great teammate. My heart hurts and my prayers are with his family.”
Required reading
(Photo: Perry Knotts / Getty Images)
