PORTLAND — A Mechanic Falls man was sentenced Wednesday to one-and-a-half years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Derek Lavoie, 31, pleaded guilty to the crime in U.S. District Court on Sept. 27.

Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office deputies searched Lavoie’s home and found a Sig Sauer .45-cal. pistol, a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun and ammunition for both guns, according to court records.

Lavoie had been barred from having firearms stemming from convictions in Maine in 2007  for theft by unauthorized taking and forgery.

In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge George Z. Singal ordered that Lavoie be on supervised release for three years after he serves his time behind bars.

The investigation leading to his arrests and conviction on the firearms charge was conducted by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with the Central Maine Violent Crime Task Force and the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office. The case was part of the Safe Neighborhoods Initiative, which is designed to reduce gun violence and illegal gun possession.

cwilliams@sunjournal.com