Man Charged With 4 San Diego County Murders

CHULA VISTA, CA — A 74-year-old man already in custody on suspicion of committing a 2023 South Bay murder has been charged with three additional murders and pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the newly filed charges.

Dwight William Rhone is now charged in four separate San Diego County killings that allegedly occurred in 1993, 2002, and 2023, as well as a killing that happened on an unknown date stemming from human remains discovered last December.

The new charges include a special circumstances allegation of committing multiple murders, which means if convicted, Rhone faces either life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, should prosecutors pursue capital punishment.

Rhone was initially arrested and charged with murder for allegedly shooting 54-year-old Bernardo Moreno on Interstate 5, near state Route 905, then setting Moreno's body on fire on Oct. 13, 2023.

While that case was pending, Rhone was named a person of interest last year in an investigation into human remains found on a Southcrest property where Rhone previously was a tenant.

The San Diego County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday that the person found dead at the Newton Avenue property has been identified as Michael Brown. Brown's age and suspected cause of death have not been disclosed.

The D.A.'s Office said Rhone is also now tied to the December 1993 strangulation of Herierto Ruiz, who was found dead in an alley near the 3500 block of Acacia Street in Southcrest and the September 2002 death of Ronald Johnken, who was found dead near 3300 National Avenue in Logan Heights from blunt force trauma to the head.

Rhone remains in custody without bail. Following the new charges, he's not due back in court until March of next year.

The District Attorney's Office also said Rhone is being investigated in connection with additional deceased or missing people.

Prosecutors are seeking information regarding Danice Galloway, who was found dead in an alley at 3700 Main Street on May 1, 1989, and Antenogenes Gomez Velasquez, who was last seen in 2021 and last known to live at 3456 Newton Avenue.

Anyone with information was asked to contact the San Diego Police Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

"Our commitment to holding violent offenders accountable remains as strong today as it was on the day these crimes were committed," San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement. "The District Attorney's Office will never stop seeking the truth no matter how many years have passed. Victims deserve justice and their families deserve answers."

— City News Service