Ex-inmate suspected of killing Colorado prisons chief freed 4 years too soon

Published April 01, 2013

Associated Press

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  Former Colorado inmate Evan Spencer Ebel, left, is suspected in the murder of the chief of Colorado prisons, Tom Clements, right. Ebel was killed in a shootout with authorities in Texas on March 21, 2013.AP/Colorado Department of Corrections

A clerical error allowed the man suspected of killing Colorado's prisons chief to be released from custody about four years early, officials said Monday.

In 2008, Evan Spencer Ebel pleaded guilty in rural Fremont County to assaulting a prison guard. In a plea deal, Ebel was to be sentenced to up to four additional years in prison, to be served after he completed the eight-year sentence that put him behind bars in 2005, according to a statement from the 11th Judicial District.

However, the judge did not say the sentence was meant to be "consecutive," or in addition to, Ebel's current one. So the court clerk recorded it as one to be served "concurrently," or at the same time. That's the information that went to the state prisons, the statement said.

So on Jan. 28, prisons officials saw that Ebel had finished his court-ordered sentence and released him.

Two months later he was dead after a shootout with authorities in Texas. The gun he used was the same used to shoot and kill prisons chief Tom Clements two days earlier. Police believe Ebel also was involved in the death of a Domino's delivery man, Nathan Leon, in Denver.

"The court regrets this oversight and extends condolences to the families of Mr. Nathan Leon and Mr. Tom Clements," said a statement signed by Charles Barton, chief judge of the 11th Judicial District, and court administrator Walter Blair.

Corrections officials said they had not calculated precisely the number of days Ebel would have remained behind bars had the sentence been consecutive. They said they had no way of knowing the plea deal was intended to keep Ebel behind bars for years longer.

The attack that led to the plea deal took place in 2006. According to prison and court records, Ebel slipped his handcuffs while being transferred from a cell and punched a prison guard in the nose, also threatening to kill the guard's family. Ebel spent much of his time behind bars in solitary confinement and had a long record of disciplinary violations.

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Woman accused of providing gun used to kill Colorado prisons chief

Published March 28, 2013

Associated Press

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  Stevie Marie Vigil, 22, is accused of providing gun used to kill Colorado prisons chief, Tom Clements.Colorado Bureau of Investigations

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  Former Colorado inmate Evan Spencer Ebel, left, is suspected in the murder of the chief of Colorado prisons, Tom Clements, right. Ebel was killed in a shootout with authorities in Texas on March 21, 2013.AP/Colorado Department of Corrections

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DENVER –  The Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents on Wednesday arrested a woman accused of illegally transferring the gun authorities say was used to kill Colorado's prisons chief.

Investigators believe Stevie Marie Vigil, 22, of Commerce City, legally bought the firearm from a licensed dealer in the Denver suburb of Englewood and transferred it to Evan Ebel, who was a felon who couldn't legally possess a firearm, the CBI said.

Ebel is suspected in the shooting deaths of Colorado Department of Corrections head Tom Clements on March 19 and of Nathan Leon, who was shot March 17 while working as a pizza delivery driver in the Denver area.

Ebel died after a shootout in Texas last week. El Paso County, Colo., sheriff's investigators have said the gun Ebel used in the shootout was the same weapon used to kill Clements when he answered the front door of his home.

The identity of the Englewood firearms dealer wasn't disclosed. Authorities described the dealer as "extremely cooperative" and said the dealer had no knowledge of Vigil's alleged actions after buying the gun.

Vigil was being held on one felony count of unlawful purchase of a firearm. Her bail was set at $25,000.

It's not clear how Vigil and Ebel might have met. Records associated with her arrest have been sealed, and an El Paso County sheriff's office spokesman didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Ebel, 28, had most recently been sentenced to four years in prison for punching a prison guard in 2008, according to state records. He was paroled Jan. 28 after serving his full prison term, corrections officials have said. His record also includes pleading guilty to holding a pistol to an acquaintance's head and stealing his wallet.

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Woman tied to gun used to kill Colo. prisons chief

Published March 27, 2013

Associated Press

DENVER –  The Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents on Wednesday arrested a woman accused of illegally transferring the gun authorities say was used to kill Colorado's prisons chief.

Investigators believe Stevie Marie Vigil, 22, of Commerce City, legally bought the firearm from a licensed dealer in the Denver suburb of Englewood and transferred it to Evan Ebel, who was a felon who couldn't legally possess a firearm, the CBI said.

Ebel is suspected in the shooting deaths of Colorado Department of Corrections head Tom Clements on March 19 and of Nathan Leon, who was shot March 17 while working as a pizza delivery driver in the Denver area.

Ebel died after a shootout in Texas last week. El Paso County, Colo., sheriff's investigators have said the gun Ebel used in the shootout was the same weapon used to kill Clements when he answered the front door of his home.

The identity of the Englewood firearms dealer wasn't disclosed. Authorities described the dealer as "extremely cooperative" and said the dealer had no knowledge of Vigil's alleged actions after buying the gun.

Vigil was being held on one felony count of unlawful purchase of a firearm. Her bail was set at $25,000.

Records associated with her arrest have been sealed, and an El Paso County sheriff's office spokesman didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

View the original article here

Woman accused of providing gun used to kill Colorado prisons chief

Published March 27, 2013

Associated Press

DENVER –  The Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents on Wednesday arrested a woman accused of illegally transferring the gun authorities say was used to kill Colorado's prisons chief.

Investigators believe Stevie Marie Vigil, 22, of Commerce City, legally bought the firearm from a licensed dealer in the Denver suburb of Englewood and transferred it to Evan Ebel, who was a felon who couldn't legally possess a firearm, the CBI said.

Ebel is suspected in the shooting deaths of Colorado Department of Corrections head Tom Clements on March 19 and of Nathan Leon, who was shot March 17 while working as a pizza delivery driver in the Denver area.

Ebel died after a shootout in Texas last week. El Paso County, Colo., sheriff's investigators have said the gun Ebel used in the shootout was the same weapon used to kill Clements when he answered the front door of his home.

The identity of the Englewood firearms dealer wasn't disclosed. Authorities described the dealer as "extremely cooperative" and said the dealer had no knowledge of Vigil's alleged actions after buying the gun.

Vigil was being held on one felony count of unlawful purchase of a firearm. Her bail was set at $25,000.

Records associated with her arrest have been sealed, and an El Paso County sheriff's office spokesman didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

View the original article here