Jeffersonville woman pleads guilty for buying gun; sentencing postponed

A Jeffersonville woman has pleaded guilty in federal court to providing a false statement while making an illegal gun purchase two years ago at a Chittenden County firearms store. 

Tamira Lynn McKenna, 38, admitted in U.S. District Court last Friday she lied when buying a Smith & Wesson 9-mm pistol at the Powderhorn Outdoor Sports Center in 2022.

When asked on the federal purchase form if she was an unlawful user of, or addicted to marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug or any controlled substance, McKenna knowingly marked the no box, court records show.

McKenna was a user of both heroin and cocaine when she signed the federal purchase form, Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Stendig said in court.

Meanwhile, her husband, Jacob Daniel McKenna, 38, is charged with three other felony gun charges. He is awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to three counts of making false written statements to deceive licensed dealers in Chittenden County to unlawfully obtain guns. 

In each case he knew the firearms were being purchased in his name, but were for somebody else, records show.

The indictment said Jacob McKenna made false statements while buying at least three firearms in October and November of 2022. They were a Ruger PLCP Gen 2 pistol at the Powderhorn in Williston; a Ruger LCP Max .380-caliber pistol from Dattilio’s Guns & Tackle on Shelburne Road in South Burlington; and a Ruger LCP Max .380-caliber pistol, also from the Powderhorn.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with members of the Chittenden County Gun Violence Task Force, conducted a raid at the McKenna residence on Sand Hill Road in July 2023.

Defense lawyer Lisa B. Shelkrot said in court papers that her client has completed residential drug treatment since her arrest and is now engaged in an aftercare program.

Chief Federal Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford agreed to postpone the sentencing for six months to determine if McKenna can continue her recovery.

Crawford said the signed plea agreement proposes a time-served sentence if McKenna, a stay-at-home mom with two children, stays on the correct road for the next half year.  

She could face up to 10 years in prison, followed by up to three years of supervised release and assessed a $250,000 fine.

Crawford ordered a pre-sentence report from the U.S. Probation Office to determine her past and ongoing conduct.

Her husband, Jacob, is facing three counts because it is against federal law to buy a firearm with the intent of providing it to another person. Those transactions are known as straw purchases and many of the unlawful gun purchases in Vermont through the years are often traded for illegal drugs, officials have said. 

A large number end up at out-of-state crime scenes, including homicides and other violent incidents, the ATF and prosecutors say.