Judge approves Gary man's bid to reduce his life sentence

GARY, Ind. (AP) - A former boxer from Gary has won a bid to reduce his life sentence on a drug conviction.

A federal judge on Wednesday approved 35-year-old Charles "Duke" Tanner's request to reduce his life sentence to a 30-year sentence.

Tanner was sentenced in 2009 to life in prison after a federal jury convicted him in 2006 of leading a local gang that trafficked thousands of pounds of crack cocaine and marijuana.

The Port-Tribune (http://trib.in/207tjST ) reports that Tanner applied for the reduction in December, arguing that new federal sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine call for a sentence of 30 years. Federal attorneys agreed with him in a notice filed last month.

Tanner has spent about 11 years in prison and could be released by 2030. He's housed at the Federal Correctional Institute in Greenville, Illinois.

___

Information from: Post-Tribune, http://posttrib.chicagotribune.com/