Man who pleaded guilty to killing Dylan Rounds to face up to 30 years in prison
BRIGHAM CITY, Utah (ABC4) — James Brenner, the man who pleaded guilty to killing Dylan Rounds, was sentenced to serve up to 30 years in prison on Monday.
On July 1, more than two dozen family members of Dylan Rounds attended the sentencing. After two years, Rounds’ family said they hoped Brenner would show some remorse, but he did not look at anyone or speak in the courtroom.
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“I really wanted the chance to see if his face was as cold as everybody is telling me they see,” Rounds’ mother Candice Cooley told ABC4.com. “Him not turning around tells me that it is.”
Brenner is facing three to 30 years in prison, but the judge is going to advise the parole board to keep him in prison as long as possible because of his lack of empathy.
Dylan Rounds first went missing in May 2022, and his mom wondered where he was for 23 months. During the initial search for Rounds, Brenner was an active participant.
“I can’t wrap my head around it,” Cooley said. “How could he have been out there searching with us, telling us where he thought Dylan might be, conversing with us?”
Nine months after Dylan’s disappearance, Brenner was arrested. He had kept the location of Rounds’s remains a secret until he was given a plea deal earlier this year.
“Today is not a big shock to the system because we’ve been preparing for this since the end of March,” Cooley said at the sentencing.
After telling investigators where Rounds’ remains were, Brenner’s charges were reduced to second-degree felony murder and two counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person.
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Dylan Rounds’ disappearance
Around May 30, 2022, Rounds’ mother first discovered no one had seen her son in a few days. His family reportedly traveled to Utah after not hearing from Rounds and becoming concerned.
“We knew our son,” Cooley previously told ABC4.com. “Dylan would never walk away from that farm. Ever.”
In June 2022, it was confirmed that a pair of boots belonging to Rounds was found on the property where he was living in a camping trailer.
In July of 2022, a suspect was named in connection to the disappearance of Dylan Rounds. That suspect was James Brenner, who was being held on unrelated federal firearm charges at the time.
Previous reports indicated Brenner was allegedly “squatting” on Rounds’ property. He was also said to have a violent past.
In August 2022, Nevada authorities executed a search warrant on Brenner’s home.
In October 2022, the case was declared a homicide investigation by Box Elder County officials.
In March 2023, Brenner was formally charged with aggravated murder and abuse or desecration of a human body. According to documents, digital forensics revealed a time-lapse video allegedly showing Brenner cleaning a gun with blood on his arms and shirt.
Officials say they obtained Brenner’s shirt, analyzed it, and discovered DNA belonging to Rounds.
In May 2024, Brenner pleaded guilty to the death of Rounds after revealing the location of Rounds’ remains in April as part of a plea deal to reduce his charges.
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