The case now includes two cold cases, a 2023 freeway killing and remains found under a home.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A criminal case that began with a 2023 freeway killing has widened into a four-count murder prosecution against Dwight William Rhone, a 74-year-old man accused in deaths reaching back to 1993.
Rhone pleaded not guilty Wednesday to three newly filed murder charges. He was already in custody in the death of Bernardo Moreno, whose body was found burned after prosecutors say he was shot near Interstate 5 and state Route 905 in October 2023.
The expanded complaint ties Rhone to two older homicide cases and to remains found last December beneath a Southcrest home. The remains were discovered during a multiagency search at 3443 Newton Ave., where authorities said Rhone had once lived. Prosecutors identified the person as Michael Brown, but have not released Brown’s age, date of death or suspected cause of death.
The cold cases include the death of Herierto Ruiz, found strangled in December 1993 in an alley near Acacia Street in Southcrest. Prosecutors also charged Rhone in the death of Ronald Johnken, who was found in September 2002 near National Avenue in Logan Heights. Authorities said Johnken died from blunt force trauma.
The December search drew police, CHP and FBI investigators to the Newton Avenue home. Residents were moved out while officers searched the property. Earlier reports described investigators working beneath the house and in the yard as they gathered evidence and recovered remains.
District Attorney Summer Stephan said the office will keep pursuing answers, even in old cases. Prosecutors said investigators are checking whether Rhone may be tied to other missing or unidentified people. One focus is Antenogenes Gomez Velasquez, a nearby resident last seen in 2021.
The District Attorney’s Office also said investigators are looking at a possible link to Danice Galloway, 33, whose body was found May 1, 1989, in a north alley on Main Street. No charge has been filed in Galloway’s death.
The filing includes a multiple murder special circumstance allegation. That raises the possible punishment to life without parole or the death penalty if Rhone is convicted and prosecutors pursue capital punishment.
Rhone remains jailed without bail. His next hearing is set for March 2027, leaving investigators months to keep reviewing old files, forensic evidence and missing person records tied to Southcrest and nearby neighborhoods.
Author note: Last updated Thursday, June 11, 2026.