BOX ELDER COUNTY — The 60-year-old man charged with killing Dylan Rounds was sentenced to prison on Monday, July 1, months after helping investigators locate Rounds’ body.
According to court records, James A. Brenner was sentenced to three consecutive terms of one to 15 years in prison, in Brigham City’s 1st District Court as part of a plea deal that resolved three separate cases. The sentencing occurred after the defendant previously pleaded guilty to murder, and two counts of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, all second-degree felonies.
As part of the plea deal, Brenner had also agreed to disclose the location of Rounds’ remains. He provided information that helped law enforcement find his remains near Lucin, near the Nevada border, on April 9.
Rounds died from a gunshot wound to the head. The 19-year-old went missing after May 28, 2022, and the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office spent thousands of hours investigating the case and searching for him, with assistance from agencies in multiple states.
Brenner had reportedly been “squatting” on a remote property near Rounds’ farm at the time of his disappearance. He was arrested after a pair of boots were found near the property that contained Rounds’ blood and Brenner’s DNA.
Additionally, during the investigation, officials found a time-lapse video showing Brenner cleaning a gun with blood stains on his arms and shirt. The shirt in the video was later seized and tested positively for Rounds’ DNA.