BOX ELDER COUNTY, Utah, May 15, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Accused killer James Brenner on Wednesday pleaded guilty in three pending cases including the aggravated murder of 19-year-old Dylan Rounds.
Brenner appeared in First District Court in Brigham City to resolve the cases.
“The prosecutor, Blair Wardle, worked closely with Dylan’s parents to review the different options and sentencing outcomes to structure and finalize the plea deal signed by Brenner and the State,” says a statement released Wednesday afternoon by the Box Elder County District Attorney’s Office.
“The plea deal required Brenner to disclose the location of Dylan’s remains prior to today’s court date. In exchange, Brenner received a reduction from first-degree felony aggravated to second-degree felony murder. The second charge, desecration of human remains, was dismissed.”
Brenner also pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person. In addition, a third case of aggravated assault, which predates and is not related to the incident with Dylan, was dismissed.
The deal also includes an agreement that the sentences for each of the individual charges run consecutively, and that prison is mandatory.
Brenner previously provided information that led law enforcement to the location of Round’s remains, in western Box Elder County, near Lucin. With help from the FBI, the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office recovered the remains on April 9 of this year.
Brenner will be sentenced this July 1.
Box Elder County Attorney Stephen Hadfield shared comments on the case:
“Being able to bring Dylan home and bring this prosecution to a successful conclusion is a great relief,” Hadfield said in a prepared statement. “It has been amazing to see what the tireless and unrelenting effort of so many different people can accomplish. We wouldn’t be here without each of their individual contributions.”
Rounds went missing after speaking with his grandmother on May 28, 2022. The Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office received a missing person’s report. From that time to the day Rounds’ remains were recovered, the BECSO dedicated thousands of hours into the investigation and search, and engaged the assistance of more than 30 other agencies based inside and outside of Utah, the statement says.
“The Box Elder County Attorney’s Office wishes to share its deepest condolences to the family of Dylan Rounds, and expresses immense gratitude to the friends, volunteers, the multitude of law enforcement agencies, and all others that assistent in bringing a resolution to the difficult and heartbreaking case.”
