Man Pardoned By Obama Reportedly Shot 'Execution Style' In Michigan

Demarlon Thomas was sentenced to 19 years in prison in 2008 on a cocaine charge but was one out of the 1,385 individuals who had their sentence commuted by Barack Obama.

Just a few months after the commuting of his sentence, Michigan native Demarlon C. Thomas was shot execution style in a federal halfway house, CBS Detriot reports.

The shooting happened Monday evening (Jan. 23) when two masked men entered the Bannum Place Federal Corrections Halfway House and held over a dozen people hostage. After scoping out the 31-year-old, he was shot several times. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Lt. David Kaiser told reporters there was no doubt that the shooting was a planned attack. “This was a very targeted individual, for whatever reason,” Kaiser said. “The people that shot this man knew who they were looking for and wanted him deceased.”

Considered a non-violent prisoner, he was among the 79 people pardoned on Nov. 22. by former President Barack Obama. In total, 1,385 individuals have been pardoned by Obama. Thomas was previously sentenced to 19 years in prison on cocaine charges. Friends tell MLive Thomas attended college for a year under an athletic scholarship and got caught up in the wrong crowd.

The investigation is still open with no suspects in custody.