LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) – Police have arrested a 22-year-old Commerce City woman for allegedly illegally transferring the firearm recovered in Texas that was identified as the weapon used in the shooting death of Colorado Prison Chief Tom Clements.
Stevie Marie Vigil, 22, was arrested Wednesday evening on suspicion of an alleged illegal transfer of a firearm in early March. The arrest was based on information developed during the course of the investigation by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation; the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Englewood Police Department; and the Denver Police Department.
“Oftentimes referred to as a ‘straw purchase,’ investigators believe Vigil purchased the firearm from a licensed firearms dealer in Englewood, and allegedly transferred the weapon to Evan Ebel, a convicted felon who could not legally possess a firearm,” CBI spokesperson Susan Medina said in a statement.
Medina said the licensed firearms dealer was extremely cooperative with investigators and “had no knowledge of Vigil’s alleged actions following her legal purchase of the gun.”
Vigil is being held at the Arapahoe County Jail. Her bond is set at $25,000.
Vigil faces one count of unlawful purchase of a firearm, a felony. She faces a potential penalty of anywhere between two and 16 years in prison and fines ranging from $500 to $2,000.
