BURLINGTON — A Bennington man, who is suspected in the killing of his girlfriend in 2019, was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to  12½ years in prison for gun and drug convictions.

A federal jury convicted Deven D. Moffitt, 35, of Gage Street in May 2024 on the three felony charges following a four-day trial in Burlington.

Chief Federal Judge Christina Reiss told Moffitt he would be on supervised release conditions for seven years once he is discharged from prison.

She rejected a request by the prosecution that Moffitt be sentenced with an enhancement for being classified as a “Career Criminal.” His criminal record now has at least seven felony convictions.

The Career Criminal designation under the federal sentencing guidelines had recommended a sentence of at least 30 years in prison and up to life.

Without the designation Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Gilman argued at least 17½ years in prison was proper.

Defense lawyer Kevin Henry of Burlington had requested a 7-year prison term based on the tough life Moffitt has endured.

Reiss noted that Moffitt also agreed to forfeit the two loaded handguns: a 9-mm Hi-Point pistol and a .22-caliber High Standard revolver along with $16,474 in cash from a black fanny pack that he was wearing.

The judge said she was inclined to give less prison time and to have a long period of supervised release so Moffitt could be monitored. Reiss said she also gave him extra credit for about five months he served at a notorious federal correctional facility in New York City. She noted all Vermont prisoners have been moved out of it.

Reiss also said she would not consider the 2019 strangulation death of Jessica “Red” Hildenbrandt, 43, of Ballston Spa, N.Y. in her sentencing. She said she should not punish him for the homicide if the state is going to re-file its charge.

Moffitt had been scheduled to go on trial Jan. 7 in Vermont Superior Court in Bennington for a second-degree murder charge in her death, but the state dismissed the charge on the eve of the trial for technical reasons over some evidence issues.

Four days after the dismissal defense lawyer Rob Sussman asked a state judge to block the Bennington County State’s Attorney’s Office from refiling the homicide case.

Deputy State’s Attorney Jared Bianchi later countered in an 11-page motion asking the court to toss out the defense request.

“Dismissal with prejudice would not serve the ends of justice nor the effective administration of court business,” he wrote. Bianchi said the Moffitt case was unlike one cited by the defense.

“Dismissal with prejudice serves only to injure the public and the victims,” Bianchi said.

Judge Kerry Ann McDonald-Cady still has the competing motions under advisement, a court spokeswoman said Tuesday.

A federal court jury in Burlington in May 2024 found Moffitt guilty initially on two drug and gun charges: possession of both fentanyl and cocaine and a second count of possession of a fully loaded .22-caliber revolver and a loaded 9-mm pistol with the safety off to help further his drug trafficking business.

After delivering the two guilty verdicts, the federal jury was asked to consider a third felony charge: whether Moffitt was guilty of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm when he was eventually arrested that day in Bennington. It took 5 minutes to convict on the third charge.

The three federal charges stemmed from his June 1, 2022 arrest in Bennington in the homicide case.

Moffitt tried to flee as state and Bennington Police and Homeland Security Investigations moved in to arrest him near Brookside Apartments on South Street. Moffitt was subsequently caught nearby on Jefferson Avenue.

Authorities recovered 3,570 bags of suspected fentanyl, 20 grams of suspected crack cocaine, 23 grams of suspected powder cocaine, a fully loaded .22-caliber revolver, a loaded 9-mm pistol with the safety deactivated, $16,474 in cash, digital scales and multiple cellphones, court records show.

The federal drug and gun case was straight forward, according to the lead prosecutor, then-Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia L. Torti, in her opening statement at the trial. She told the jury Moffitt was carrying all the tools of his drug business when confronted by police.

Moffitt never took the witness stand.

Henry, a veteran lawyer and former Vermont police officer, did not present any defense witnesses, but tried to use detailed cross examination to poke holes in the testimony offered by people called by the prosecution.

All the state charges stem from an elaborate joint investigation by state and Bennington Police, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Hildenbrandt’s jawbone was found Sept. 17, 2019 in a gravel pit off Somerset Road in Searsburg and more parts and a shallow grave were located over the following days, according to then-Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. Thomas Truex.

It took until early July 2020 to confirm Hildenbrandt’s identity through DNA, Truex said. It took almost three years after the killing to develop enough evidence to arrest Moffitt, state police said. Hildenbrandt had last been in touch with her family in July 2019.

Moffitt has been linked to a very dangerous gang known as The Bloods, and with a one of its chapters known as “Murda, Money and Sex in Jersey City, N.J.” Hildenbrandt said in a March 2019 police interview, court papers note. She told police at that time she was in fear for her life because of death threats by Moffitt, records show.

Moffitt pleaded innocent to the homicide charge after his arrest in June 2022. He continued to maintain his innocence when he spoke Tuesday afternoon during his one-hour sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court.

Moffitt also offered an apology to Judge Reiss for an outburst in court in January 2024 that included him “f-bombing” the court eight times.” It came as he was trying to get defense lawyer Karen Shingler taken off the case on his claims that she was a government agent.

Reiss said Tuesday that he had sent a written apology earlier and that she accepted it.

The judge also agreed with a request by Moffitt that she would recommend he served the sentence at Fort Dix in New Jersey. The low-level security facility has about 3,500 inmates and has an adjoining small prison camp.

Moffitt also had some other state charges dismissed, including two counts of obstruction of justice in the case. Those charges each carried a possible life sentence because the state wanted Moffitt designated as a habitual offender, if convicted, records show.

Another charge of aggravated domestic assault was dismissed after there was some question as to whether the incident happened in Windham County. Hildenbrandt said she was struck in the ear and not allowed to go to the hospital right away in Brattleboro, court records said.

Three days later she went to a hospital in Bennington, which confirmed treatment for loss of hearing, records show.

Moffitt has a lengthy criminal record and that’s why Bennington County prosecutors want him treated as a habitual offender if convicted.

He was sentenced to 23-to-24 months in prison for escape on April 12, 2022; one-to-two years in prison for unlawful trespass into an occupied residence on Nov. 16, 2015; and 30-months to eight years for aggravated assault on Aug. 6, 2009 — all in Bennington County, records show.

Moffitt is well known to police. One month before his arrest, Moffitt sold 100 bags of suspected fentanyl/heroin to an informant in Bennington, court records show.