Man who lived near missing Box Elder man charged with federal gun crime

Dylan Rounds, 19, was last seen May 28 in Lucin, Utah. A man who lived just five miles away from Rounds now faces a federal gun charge. No arrests have been made or charges filed in connection with his disappearance.

Dylan Rounds, 19, was last seen May 28 in Lucin, Utah. A man who lived just five miles away from Rounds now faces a federal gun charge. No arrests have been made or charges filed in connection with his disappearance. (Katie Wells)


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LUCIN, Box Elder County — A squatter who was living near 19-year-old Dylan Rounds when he went missing from the remote community of Lucin in northwest Utah in May faces new criminal charges in federal court.

James Brenner, 58, was charged in the U.S. District Court of Utah on Thursday with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was also charged in 1st District Court on June 23 with three counts of being a restricted person in possession of a firearm, a third-degree felony.

Dylan Rounds, originally from Rigby, Idaho, was last heard from on May 28. According to family members, Rounds lived by himself in a camp trailer where he farmed grain. Family members reported Rounds missing to the Box Elder County Sheriff's Office on May 30.

"On this day, (Rounds) contacted a relative by phone and told them that he was 'putting the grain truck into shelter,'" according to the complaint filed in federal court.

The shelter for the grain truck is adjacent to two other parcels of land, the charges state. Brenner was "squatting" in a trailer on one of those parcels about five miles away from Rounds' home, the charges state.

Brenner, who is considered a "family friend" of Rounds, was interviewed by law enforcement on June 7.

On June 11, the Box Elder County Sheriff's Office requested assistance from the FBI and Davis County Sheriff's Office. Five days later, law enforcers served a search warrant on Brenner's trailer.

"During that search, ball ammunition, ignition caps, black powder, and speed loads, all related to 'muzzle loading' were located and photographed in the trailer, but the items were not seized at this time," according to the charges.

On June 20, another neighbor was interviewed and told investigators that after Rounds went missing and before Brenner was questioned on June 7, "Brenner brought three black powder guns over to (the neighbor's) residence and asked him to 'safekeep' them. When (the neighbor) asked why, Brenner stated that he needed to do this for 'his own safety' and that 'the last time he had trouble with the law they took everything from him, and he did not want the things he had left to be taken again,'" the charges state.

The neighbor also said that Brenner brought a .22-caliber rifle to his residence about the same time.

"He explained to us that the rifle had been left in a trailer on the property where Brenner had been living, prior to Brenner living there, by a person who owed (the neighbor) money. Brenner upon moving into the trailer had taken possession of it. (The neighbor) knew that Brenner wasn't allowed to have firearms because of his criminal history," charging documents state.

The three muzzle-loaders and rifle were handed over to police.

On June 21, officers went back to Brenner's trailer with another search warrant and more ammunition, a muzzle loader, black powder and ignition caps were seized, the charges state.

Brenner previously served 2 ½ years in federal prison after a 2012 conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The search for Rounds continued Thursday. No arrests have been made or charges filed in connection with his disappearance.

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Pat Reavy is a longtime police and courts reporter. He joined the KSL.com team in 2021, after many years of reporting at the Deseret News and KSL NewsRadio before that.

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