SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Southcrest residents who knew a man who’s accused of killing four people are in shock after authorities announced murder charges against their former neighbor.
“We knew him because he was a staple,” said Patty, who lives steps away from Dwight Rhone’s former residence on Newton Avenue.
Patty asked us not to use her last name but agreed to tell us about her interactions with Rhone, 74.
“He always wanted to braid my hair because I had my hair down to my knees. He always wanted to do my hair,” she said.
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Rhone pleaded not guilty to four murder charges at his arraignment on Wednesday. The San Diego County District Attorney says the crimes happened over the span of more than three decades.
Last December, the DA named Rhone a person of interest after human remains were found underneath his former home on Newton Avenue but didn’t charge him until this week.
'Could have been me'
Neighbors told us Rhone moved out of the home a few years ago and appeared to be homeless for a time living out of his truck.
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“I'm glad they caught him. I mean, shoot, it could have been me. It could have been any one of us in this neighborhood,” said Victoria, who lives next door to Rhone’s old home.
Victoria also didn’t want to give us her last name or show her face on camera.
She told Investigative Reporter Austin Grabish that Rhone was always friendly toward her and she was stunned to find out he had been charged with enough murders to make him an alleged serial killer.
“I just thought that he was some really nice old guy.”
She said she had no idea Antenogenes Gomez Velasquez, a resident across the street from her home at 3656 Newton Avenue, hasn’t been seen since 2021 and that the district attorney is working to determine if his cold case may now be connected to Rhone.
Rhone has pleaded not guilty to the four murders and is not due back in court until next year.
“I have no words. There's literally no words for, to say how you feel when I was living right next door when all of this happened,” Victoria said.
Investigative Reporter Austin Grabish can be reached at austin.grabish@10news.com
