New Hampshire Woman and New York Man Sentenced for Role in Transporting Illegal Aliens

Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that on November 17, 2025, Jody Lynn McGuire, 52, of Manchester, New Hampshire, was sentenced by United States District Judge William K. Sessions III to a time-served term of approximately 2.5 months, to be followed by a 2-year term of supervised release. On October 20, 2025, Judge Sessions sentenced McGuire’s co-defendant, Tyler Kenneth George Leavine, 34, of Dannemora, New York, to a time-served sentence of approximately 7 months, to be followed by a 2-year term of supervised release. Leavine and McGuire previously pleaded guilty to transporting illegal aliens.

According to court records, on March 26, 2025, United States Border Patrol received a tip that there was going to be a human smuggling event in Alburgh, Vermont. Upon reporting to the area, Border Patrol found a white Ford Edge with New York plates. Video footage showed several people had run to, and entered, the Ford Edge. Border Patrol stopped the vehicle; the driver was McGuire and the front-seat passenger was Leavine. In the backseat of the vehicle there were three Indian citizens who did not legally enter the United States and had no documentation allowing them to remain in the United States. Leavine and McGuire later told law enforcement they had driven to Alburgh to pick people up and were expecting to be paid for their role in transporting these individuals.

First Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher commended the investigatory efforts of the United States Border Patrol.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Flynn. McGuire was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Emily Kenyon. Leavine was represented by Kevin M. Henry, Esq.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.