SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The man named a person of interest a day after human remains were found at a San Diego property has a lengthy, violent criminal history, Team 10 has learned.
Dwight William Rhone, 74, had lived at 3443 Newton Ave. in Southcrest since at least 2002, according to court documents.
Team 10 went to court on Wednesday to research Rhone's past after learning he had lived at the home where the human remains were found Tuesday.
On Wednesday afternoon, the San Diego County District Attorney named the 74-year-old a person of interest in the human remains case.
Court filings reviewed by Team 10 show Rhone has been in and out of prison for decades and has repeatedly been in trouble with the law.
Rhone is already behind bars and awaiting trial in the grisly October 2023 killing of Bernardo Moreno, 54.
Moreno’s body was found as crews extinguished a brush fire on Interstate 5 at State Route 905. After a lengthy investigation, Rhone was named a suspect in that case and was arrested in December 2024. He’s accused of shooting Moreno and then burning his body.
Court documents reviewed by Team 10 show Rhone has been sentenced to state prison for more than 30 years in total for a number of violent crimes.
They include robbery, petty theft, sodomy of a fellow inmate, auto theft, drug and firearm charges, having a stolen vehicle, and failing to register as a sex offender.
Since 1969, Rhone has had at least 17 felony convictions and seven misdemeanor convictions, one court filing from 2019 stated.
Rhone has an unspecified mental illness, according to one court document reviewed by Team 10.
Back in Southcrest, it's unclear who the human remains found Tuesday belong to, or how long they've been there.
Rhone has been named a person of interest, but has not been charged in the case.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the San Diego Police Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
Team 10 Investigative Reporter Austin Grabish can be reached at austin.grabish@10news.com
