Drug-dealer whose 19-year sentence was COMMUTED by President Obama is executed in halfway house

  • Demarlon C. Thomas was formerly involved in drug dealing for Sunny Side Gang
  • Thomas, of Saginaw, Michigan, was convicted in 2008 of dealing cocaine
  • His 19-year sentence was commuted by Obama in November
  • He was living in a Saginaw halfway house when two masked men executed him
  • Killers also held up more than 20 people at gunpoint but no one was injured 

By Associated Press and Forrest Hanson For Dailymail.com

Published: 13:18 EST, 24 January 2017 | Updated: 22:05 EST, 24 January 2017

A man whose drug-related prison sentence was commuted by Obama was fatally shot at a federal halfway house in Michigan, police said.

Demarlon C. Thomas, whose sentence was commuted in November, was killed by two men with assault-style rifles who sought him out. 

Thomas, 31, was formerly a gang member of Sunny Side Gang in Saginaw, about 100 miles north of Detroit.

Scroll down for video

Demarlon C. Thomas, whose 19-year sentence was commuted by Obama in November, was killed by two masked gunman at Bannum Place halfway house in Michigan

Thomas was shot several times by one of the men as some of the roughly two dozen people at the home were held at gunpoint 

Two men wearing masks went into Bannum Place, at 2209 Norman Street, at 9.40pm on Monday night with plans to kill him.

Lieutenant David Kaiser said Thomas was shot several times by one of the men as some of the roughly two dozen people at the home were held at gunpoint.

Kaiser told the Saginaw News: 'One person watched over a group of them while another subject located the victim and executed him.'

He added: 'They were looking for this person.' 

Thomas was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured and no one was immediately taken into custody.

It is unknown what security measures were in place at the house. 

Thomas had been sentenced to 19 years in prison in 2008 on a cocaine charge, but with the commutation the sentence was to expire on March 22, 2017.

He had been charged with distributing five grams or more of cocaine. 

Thomas's sentence was commuted by President Obama on November 22, 2016. He was one of 79 individuals to have his sentence commuted that day

He was arrested as part of 'Operation Sunset,' a federal investigation that effectively dismantled the Sunny Side Gang in Saginaw.

He was one of 79 individuals whose sentences Obama commuted on November 22, 2016.

He had been held at Elkton Federal Correctional Institution in Lisbon, Ohio, roughly 250 miles southeast of Saginaw. 

He was arrested as part of 'Operation Sunset,' a federal investigation that effectively dismantled the Sunny Side Gang in Saginaw. 

The Michigan State Police Major Crimes Unit is leading the investigation.

 

Comments (392)

Share what you think

 View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

 View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now