PORTLAND — A woman from Androscoggin County who bought a least three guns for her drug dealer was sentenced in federal court Thursday to the seven days she served in jail after her arrest last year.

U.S. District Court Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. also sentenced Tia Lavigne, 24, who had no fixed residential address, to three years of supervised release for making a false statement during the acquisition of a firearm from a licensed firearm dealer.

She pleaded guilty to the felony in June.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Scott said Lavigne bought handguns for her drug dealer, known as Little Man, who was a felon, on several occasions, at federally licensed firearm sellers, including stores in Gray and Scarborough.

Her drug dealer supplied Lavigne with crack cocaine, a substance to which she was addicted.

On June 25, 2023, Lavigne bought a Glock .22-caliber pistol after she was told which gun to buy and given the money to make the purchase, Scott said.

After leaving the store, Lavigne put the gun in her vehicle, which was parked outside. A short time later, it was retrieved by her drug dealer, Scott said.

Her drug dealer was later found to be in possession of one of the guns Lavigne bought.

Scott asked that the judge sentence Lavigne to a year and a day in prison, arguing she “endangered the entire community” with her criminal conduct.

He noted several violations of her conditions of pretrial release.

Lavigne’s attorney, Caleigh Milton, was seeking no prison time for her client.

Milton described Lavigne’s home life growing up as filled with “deeply significant trauma.”

Both of her parents struggled with addiction and she suffered so much abuse under her mother’s care that her father had to intervene.

Eventually, she went to live with his parents.

She had started drinking alcohol at age 8 and smoking marijuana at age 11. A boyfriend introduced her to crack.

Lavigne has made poor choices, but has maintained sobriety while living in sober housing and getting substance abuse treatment, Milton said.

“She’s gotten the message,” Milton said.

Lavigne told the judge that she realized she endangered people by her actions.

“I’d like to apologize to everyone I put in harm’s way,” she said.

She’s on Step No. 4 of a 12-Step program in dealing with her addiction, she said.

“I will forever be working on my mental health,” she said.

“I never want to go back” to using drugs, she said.

Woodcock referred to Lavigne’s childhood as “chaotic and sometimes cruel.”

She was later abused by men with whom she engaged in relationships, Woodcock noted.

Surprisingly, he said, despite her upbringing, she managed to graduate from high school and enrolled in community college, where she studied culinary arts.

Lavigne said she planned to return to college to earn her degree.

Woodcock concluded Lavigne was unlikely to buy guns for others in the future. As a convicted felon, she will be barred from having a gun.

He said Lavigne needed to “stay away from bad people” as well as alcohol and drugs.

Whether she will or not, “the jury is out on that question,” he said.

“Everyone remains hopeful,” he said. “You’ve got a degree of self-discipline that you need to rely on.”