Man whose drug sentence was commuted by Obama 'executed' in halfway house, police say

SAGINAW, MI -- Police say a man whose drug-related prison sentence was commuted in November by President Barack Obama has been fatally shot at a federal halfway house in Michigan.

State police say two men wearing masks and carrying assault-style rifles went into the house Monday night with plans to kill 31-year-old Damarlon Thomas, a former Saginaw gang member.

Lt. David Kaiser says Thomas was shot several times by one man as the other held some of the roughly two dozen people at the home at gunpoint. Kaiser tells The Saginaw News that Thomas was "executed." WSGW-AM says Thomas was pronounced dead at the scene.

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