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Utah squatter suspected in Dylan Rounds' death pleads guilty to murder charge
The Utah squatter suspected of killing a 19-year-old who struck out on his own farm two years ago admitted to shooting the teen in the head on a rainy day as he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a Brigham City court Wednesday.
James Brenner, 60, had long been suspected of killing the teen, but evidence was scarce until investigators found Dylan Rounds’ phone, and a timelapse video that showed the killer covered in blood and cleaning a gun.
“That phone told us a lot, besides having the video on it and the data,” Rounds’ mother Candice Cooley previously told Fox News Digital. “Amazing they got the video off of it.”
Brenner, who shot another man in Maryland in the 1980s in a work dispute, is already a convicted felon who is barred for life from owning guns. He was squatting on land near Rounds’ farm, police have said.
UTAH SQUATTER TAKES PLEA DEAL IN TEEN FARMER’S MURDER, LEADS DETECTIVES TO ‘SKELETAL REMAINS’
Dylan Rounds, 19, was last seen in Lucin, Utah, on May 25, 2022, authorities said. (Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office)
As previously reported, the transient killer agreed to divulge the location of Rounds’ remains in exchange for reduced charges, dramatically reducing his prison sentence. His charge of first-degree felony aggravated murder was reduced to second-degree felony murder.
Prosecutors dismissed a desecration of human remains charge as well as an unrelated assault case.
James Brenner exits the courtroom in Box Elder County, Utah, in July 2023. Brenner is charged with the murder of 19-year-old Dylan Rounds, whose remains were recovered on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, nearly two years after his death. (EastIdahoNews.com)
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However, he is expected to spend decades in prison on the state charges and a federal felony in possession of a firearm guilty plea. The sentences must be served consecutively, not concurrently, according to prosecutors.
“Being able to bring Dylan home and bring this prosecution to a successful conclusion is a great relief,” Box Elder County Attorney Stephen Hadfield said in a statement. “It has been amazing to see what the tireless and unrelenting efforts of so many different people can accomplish.”
Dylan Rounds, a 19-year-old Idaho native who struck off on his own as a farmer in Utah, is pictured in an undated family photo. His suspected killer, James Brenner, pleaded guilty Wednesday. (Box Elder County Sheriff’s Department)
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More than 30 law enforcement agencies from Utah and elsewhere assisted in the case, he said. Additionally, Rounds’ family put up a six-figure reward as volunteers spent weeks searching the cave-lined, rural area.
Rounds vanished in May 2022 after telling his grandmother he had to park his grain truck in a shelter because it started to rain.
Brenner was living in a trailer set up on land near the shelter without the owner’s permission, squatting there.
Candice Cooley says her son Dylan Rounds is singularly focused on farming. (Candice Cooley)
After Brenner confessed to the slaying, the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI recovered his remains near Lucin, where the teen had a farm about 200 miles from Salt Lake City.
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The Idaho native grew up as a farmer and had just planted the first crop on his own land when he was killed, his mother said.
He avoided video games, did not use drugs and stayed off social media.
Cooley is calling on Utah voters to push for stiffer punishments for violent criminals.
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A man is dead after a brutal stabbing inside a San Francisco hospital and now federal immigration officials are pointing squarely at California’s sanctuary policies and the Biden administration’s border decisions as contributing factors.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is urging Governor Gavin Newsom and state officials not to release the suspect, a Venezuelan national in the country illegally who had previously been encountered and released by Border Patrol.
Wilfredo Jose Tortolero-Arriechi is accused of fatally stabbing 51-year-old Alberto Rangel inside Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on December 4. Rangel succumbed to his injuries two days later, on December 6.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE has already lodged a detainer request to keep Tortolero-Arriechi in custody — a request that now hangs in the balance in a state that has repeatedly clashed with federal immigration enforcement.
DHS TAKES VICTORY LAP AFTER ARRESTING OVER 10K ILLEGAL ALIENS IN DEEP BLUE CITY DESPITE VIOLENT RIOTS
Alberto Rangel, 51, died after being stabbed inside Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital in San Francisco on Dec. 4, 2025. (Department of Homeland Security)
“If it weren’t for the Biden administration’s reckless open-border policies, Alberto Rangel would still be alive,” Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement, directly tying the killing to federal immigration policy. She also called on Newsom to ensure the suspect is not released, blasting sanctuary policies that she says “put American lives at risk.”
The suspect had reportedly displayed alarming behavior in the weeks leading up to the attack, allegedly threatening hospital staff and his own doctor before the deadly stabbing unfolded.
EXCLUSIVE: ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RELEASED UNDER BIDEN ‘CATCH AND RELEASE’ ALLEGEDLY KILLS DRIVER IN POLICE CHASE
Wilfredo Jose Tortolero-Arriechi, a Venezuelan national in the U.S. illegally, is charged in the fatal stabbing of Alberto Rangel at a San Francisco hospital. (Department of Homeland Security)
Federal officials say Tortolero-Arriechi was first encountered by U.S. Border Patrol in 2023 and then released into the country. The case is adding new fuel to the fight over California’s sanctuary policies.
Earlier this year, ICE revealed that more than 33,000 criminal illegal immigrants are currently in custody across California with active detainers, including individuals accused or convicted of serious crimes such as homicide, sexual assault and drug trafficking.
Despite that, officials say thousands have been released.
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Since January 2026 alone, California jurisdictions have declined to honor ICE detainers in more than 4,500 cases, according to the agency. Those releases included individuals tied to dozens of homicides, hundreds of assaults and a wide range of other violent and drug-related offenses, ICE said.
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The latest push from federal officials builds on earlier warnings. In February, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons sent a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta urging him to “put the safety of Americans first” by honoring detainers for more than 33,000 criminal illegal immigrants in state custody.
Lyons warned that “no community serious about keeping its residents safe will tolerate a clear aberration of the law,” pressing California officials to cooperate with ICE and take “the worst of the worst off the streets.”
Meanwhile, Alberto Rangel’s death is now being used by federal officials to underscore what they argue are the real-world consequences of those policies.
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California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is being criticized by angel mother Agnes Gibboney (far right), whose son, Ronald da Silva, was killed by an illegal immigrant gang member in 2002. (Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images; White House)
Newsom’s office pushed back on that characterization, saying the state’s approach prioritizes accountability and public safety.
“If someone commits a serious crime, they should be held accountable in our justice system,” a spokesperson for Newsom’s office told Fox News Digital. “Allowing someone to evade responsibility simply by being deported undermines the rule of law and completely disrespects the victims harmed by that crime. Our focus must always be to ensure those who commit violent acts face their consequences here.”
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A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Jan. 20, 2026, that a criminal illegal alien allegedly weaponized his vehicle to ram law enforcement officers in Compton, Calif., in an attempt to evade arrest. (KTTV)
The governor’s office also pointed to California’s record of cooperating with federal immigration authorities in certain cases, noting that, since 2019, the state has coordinated the transfer of more than 12,000 individuals, including those convicted of serious and violent crimes, into ICE custody.
Officials added that state law allows coordination with ICE for individuals convicted of serious felonies or those facing credible charges, and said California does not interfere with federal immigration enforcement.
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They also argued that federal authorities do not always take custody of individuals when detainers are issued, claiming ICE fails to pick up roughly one in eight people released from state prisons who have immigration holds.
Tortolero-Arriechi remains in custody at the San Francisco County Jail, where he faces homicide and weapons charges, as pressure mounts on California leaders over whether they will comply with federal requests to keep him there.
In a statement issued after his death in December 2025, SEIU Local 521 Chief Elected Officer Riko Mendez said, “Our hearts are with the family, friends, and coworkers of Alberto Rangel,” remembering him as a dedicated social worker.
On a night when the Atlanta Hawks’ season ended with a 51-point beating from the New York Knicks, the Denver Nuggets may have managed to outdo them on the “embarrassing closeout losses” scale.
The Minnesota Timberwolves played Thursday’s Game 6 without Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo and Ayo Dosunmu, and they still bullied their way to a 110-98 victory.
And the Nuggets’ 2025-26 season is now over.
After entering it with title aspirations, Denver could easily be seen as one of the NBA’s most disappointing teams. They were seventh in the league in regular-season net rating and 21st in defensive rating. They got embarrassed by a lower seed in the first round.
Yes, injuries had their say. Nikola Jokić, Aaron Gordon, Cameron Johnson, Christian Braun and Peyton Watson all missed significant time. Gordon and Watson didn’t play in Thursday’s Game 6.
But even with that context in mind, Denver came up well shy of its potential. And that could mean a dramatic summer.
Given the Nuggets’ early exits from each of the last three postseasons, few would bat an eye over anything short of a Jokić trade. But it may be difficult to truly overhaul the roster through trades.
The last two front offices have already spent pretty much every available trade asset. So, what should be the priorities in this between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place offseason? The answer is below.
With the calendar flipping to May and first month of the MLB season in the books, it’s a good time to check in on some notable former Seattle Mariners to see how they’re doing with new teams.
How Seattle Mariners’ ABS usage stacks up with rest of MLB
As it turns out, a number of players who were with the Mariners last season and on new teams this year are currently injured, including some names that didn’t make the cut for the list below like Caleb Ferguson and Tyler Locklear.
Below is a look at how several notable former Mariners have fared through the first month of the 2026 campaign.
Jorge Polanco
Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million deal with the New York Mets during the offseason, got off to a slow start with his new team and is currently on the 10-day injured list with a right wrist contusion. He was also playing through left Achilles bursitis before landing on the IL.
In 14 games, the switch-hitting Polanco is slashing .179/.246/.286 with a .532 OPS, one homer, three doubles, five walks and 11 strikeouts.
Eugenio Suárez
Suárez, a fan favorite in Seattle who signed a one-year, $15 million deal to return to the Cincinnati Reds during the offseason, was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a left oblique strain. Before landing on the IL, he was also off to a bit of a slow start.
In 25 games, Suárez is slashing .231/.300/.363 with a .663 OPS, three homers, three doubles, nine walks and 30 strikeouts.
Harry Ford
Ford, who was traded to the Washington Nationals in an offseason deal that brought left-hander Jose A. Ferrer to Seattle, was assigned to Triple-A at the start of the season and has struggled at the plate early on.
In 20 games with Triple-A Rochester, he’s slashing .182/.289/.221 with a .510 OPS, three doubles, 10 walks and 26 strikeouts. Ford produced an .868 OPS and hit 16 homers in 97 games with Triple-A Tacoma last year.
Leody Taveras
Taveras, who struggled to find his footing in 28 games with the Mariners last season, isn’t necessarily a notable former Mariner, but he stands out due to the rebound season he’s starting to put together with the Baltimore Orioles following two rough years at the plate.
After signing a one-year deal with Baltimore in the offseason, Taveras is slashing .288/.397/.455 with an .852 OPS, two homers, three doubles, one triple, 12 walks and 16 strikeouts. He’s also tied for third on the team with 17 RBIs.
Tayler Saucedo
Saucedo, a product of Maple Valley’s Tahoma High School, was designated for assignment during the offseason before signing a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels. He is currently pitching for Triple-A Salt Lake.
Saucedo has a 4.85 ERA and has struck out 13 batters over 13 innings in 11 appearances. He’s allowed seven runs on 12 hits and 10 walks.
Dylan Moore
Moore, who was the longest-tenured Mariners player when he was released amid a career-worst slump in August 2025, signed a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies over the offseason and was awarded a major-league deal after opting out of his initial contract in March.
Moore is still in search of his first hit with the Phillies. He’s 0 for 11 at the plate with three walks and five strikeouts in 13 games.
Trent Thornton
Thornton, who missed the final two months of last season with a torn left Achilles, elected free agency after being non-tendered by the M’s over the offseason. He signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs and was recently activated to Triple-A Iowa for his first game action since the Achilles injury.
In two outings (one start), Thornton has struck out four batters and allowed one run on three hits and one walk over 3 2/3 innings.
More on the Seattle Mariners
• How can Kade Anderson help Seattle Mariners this year? Passan’s take
• Two things we know, two questions we have a month into Mariners’ season
• Where things stand with Seattle Mariners’ Brendan Donovan, Bryce Miller
• Seattle Mariners’ Matt Brash details side issue, doesn’t think it’s serious
• White Sox call up Jarred Kelenic before playing Seattle Mariners next week
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