Stevie Marie Vigil, 22, was taken into custody without incident during the court hearing after a federal grand jury charged her with knowingly giving a firearm to Evan Ebel, the only suspect named in the March 19 slaying of state corrections chief Tom Clements.

Prosecutors in Arapahoe County withdrew a similar state charge against Vigil during Friday’s hearing because the potential prison sentence in a federal case is longer and more appropriate, said Jeff Dorschner, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Denver. Vigil is accused of buying a 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun March 8 and giving it to Ebel, a convicted felon.

“Transferring a gun to a convicted felon is a serious federal crime, period, full-stop,” U.S. Attorney John Walsh said.

If convicted, Vigil faces up to 10 years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine.

Vigil’s attorney, Normando Pacheco, said he did not know why prosecutors decided to withdraw state charges right before his client’s trial, which was set to begin Monday.

“I’ve been practicing law since 1974, and this is the first time I saw it this late in the game,” he said.

Pacheco has argued that Vigil was forced to buy the gun for Ebel, and Vigil’s cousin, Victor Baca, has said he believes Ebel intimidated her into giving him the gun.

Prison officials say Ebel was released on parole Jan. 28 – four years early because of a clerical error. He then removed the ankle monitoring bracelet he was required to wear.

Clements, 58, was shot when he answered the door of his home in Monument, and Ebel, 28, was killed in a shootout with law enforcement officers in Texas days later.

Authorities also believe he was involved in the shooting death of Nathan Leon two days before Clements was killed. Leon was a computer technician and pizza deliveryman in the Denver area.

Vigil appeared in federal court briefly Friday afternoon to be advised of her rights. She was still dressed in the street clothes she wore to her state court hearing in the morning, but her legs and wrists were shackled.

Leon’s widow, Katie, and her mother, Bernadette Alness, watched from the front row, both wearing T-shirts with Leon’s photo.

With Ebel dead, Vigil is the only person facing charges related to Leon’s death.

“We don’t have anything else,” Alness said outside the court. “We want justice. We want maybe some answers we’ll probably never get.”

As her mother spoke, Katie Leon stood off to the side with her head down. Her leg had a tattoo that said “RIP my love.”

Vigil will remain in custody until at least Wednesday, when a bond hearing will be held.