Photos of Dylan Rounds who was last seen near Lucin, Utah.
BOX ELDER COUNTY — Prosecutors have filed murder charges against a man who lived near Dylan Rounds, in connection to the 19-year-old’s disappearance last spring.
According to court documents, the Box Elder County Attorney’s Office formally charged 59-year-old James Brenner with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony; and abuse or desecration of a human body, a third-degree felony.
Rounds was originally reported missing on May 30, 2022. Multiple agencies, along with search and rescue crews began searching but were never able to locate him. However, deputies discovered a pair of his boots that matched his DNA.
Cell phone footage obtained showed movements on the day of Rounds disappearance on a property in Lucin where officials determined Brenner was squatting at a nearby trailer.
According to a probable cause statement, Rounds last signal to his phone was pinged to a Lucin pond not far from where Brenner was staying.
Charging documents described, “A digital forensic download of the phone was conducted and led to the discovery of a time-lapse video with a time stamp taken at the time of the victim’s disappearance.”
The documents released stated that there was blood stains on Brenner’s arms and shirt as he was cleaning a gun in the video footage found.
“The shirt which Defendant [Brenner] is wearing in the video was analyzed and the victim’s DNA was found on the shirt,” court documents said.
Box Elder County officials said evidence supports that Brenner is the only suspect in connection to the killing of Rounds, whose remains have yet to be found.
Brenner was arrested and charged in June 2022 with a federal weapons offense. The FBI had alleged Brenner had possession of firearms, despite his status as a convicted felon.
Prosecutors later asked a judge to keep Brenner in custody before trial. In their motion to detain Brenner, the U.S. Attorney’s Office called him a ‘serious risk’ and cited his prior criminal history, which includes charges of malicious wounding, malicious shooting, and repeat convictions of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Individuals arrested and charged in complaints are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
will@cvradio.com