President Barack Obama shortened the sentence Wednesday of an Alvaton man serving prison time for the role he played in a Bowling Green drug trafficking ring.  

Corey Ferguson – who was sentenced in 2008 to 25 years in prison, followed by eight years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine; distribution of cocaine and aiding and abetting – had his prison sentence reduced to 202 months, or about 16 1/2 years.

The eight years of supervised release was also knocked off Ferguson’s sentence.  

Ferguson was convicted with nine others who operated a drug ring in and around a barber shop on Russellville Road. He received the stiffest sentence among them. The prosecution had requested a 30-year-sentence.

Ferguson was one of 214 people who had their sentences commuted Wednesday, according to a White House news release.  

Before his 2008 sentencing, Ferguson had been convicted twice for drug trafficking, once in 1991 and again in 1995, the Daily News reported in 2008. 

U.S. District Judge Thomas Russell, who presided over Ferguson’s case, said he received a request for information from the U.S. attorney’s office requesting information about the case while the commutation was still being considered. 

The request originally came from another agency, though Russell said he wasn’t sure which one.  

He said he’s received only a handful of such requests over the last 20 years.  

When he received this latest one, he simply provided the facts of the case, including Ferguson’s prior record and the charges against him, Russell said.   

“I don’t give an opinion about whether they should be commuted or not commuted,” he said. 

 — Follow reporter Jackson French on Twitter @Jackson_French or visit bgdailynews.com.