ROCK SPRINGS – A $100,000 cash-only bond won’t be what allows James Chadwick Vickers to leave the Sweetwater County Detention Center. U.S. marshals will pick him up Tuesday morning on a federal warrant associated with being a felon in possession of firearms.

Vickers originally faced 10 felony and misdemeanor charges associated with an incident where he allegedly fired a handgun inside the Santa Fe Trail Restaurant Saturday afternoon. He attended an initial appearance hearing before Circuit Court Judge Craig Jones Monday. The charges were dismissed late Monday afternoon after the Sweetwater County Attorney’s Office received the federal warrant.

“It is not uncommon for state prosecutors to cede their state charges to federal authorities, if that authority is a more viable tool in dealing with the offender,” Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe said. “In this case, the defendant is allegedly in violation of federal firearm charges that carry a greater penalty than the state charges he was facing.”