A Palm Beach County jury on Wednesday, Oct. 28, found Dylan Dantas, 18, guilty of second-degree murder and of possession of a firearm by a minor, according to court documents. Jurors had been asked to consider a first-degree murder charge, but they chose the lesser count.
Dantas was 15 when he shot and killed 18-year-old Kaleb Cobourne on Aug. 7, 2023, at Dantas’ home in the 6800 block of Bianchini Circle in Boca Raton. He called 911 just before noon that day and said he had killed a man in his backyard in self-defense.
Sheriff’s deputies said surveillance video shows Cobourne kicking a wooden security fence and entering the yard at 11:53 a.m. No weapon was seen in his hands. Video then shows Dantas come outside with a gun and fire at least one shot, and deputies said he fired more shots out of camera view.
Deputies also reviewed messages between Dantas, Cobourne and a woman, and concluded that Dantas had invited Cobourne to the house rather than acting in self-defense. In February 2026, a judge rejected Dantas’ request to dismiss the first-degree charge under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.
The Clerk of Courts database lists Dantas with a deferred sentence and a next court date of Dec. 9.
