Suspect in South Bay killing now a ‘person of interest’ in Southcrest human remains case

A San Diego man already in custody in connection with a fatal 2023 shooting has now been named as a person of interest in an ongoing investigation of human remains that were found Tuesday at a Southcrest apartment building where he used to live, officials said Wednesday.

Dwight William Rhone, 74, was arrested last year on suspicion of shooting Bernardo Moreno, 54, and setting the victim’s body on fire in the South Bay.

On Tuesday, investigators said they had reason to believe human remains were located at a small apartment complex where Rhone used to live on Newton Avenue just north of Interstate 5, investigators said.

Law enforcement officials executed a search warrant at the property and located human remains in the yard, San Diego police said.

Investigators declined to provide any further details about the ongoing investigation. The remains will be identified, and the cause of death will be determined by the county Medical Examiner’s Office.

The remains were found as part of a joint operation between California Highway Patrol officers and FBI agents, but the investigation is now being handled by the Police Department’s Cold Case/Missing Persons unit and the District Attorney’s Office due to the apartment complex falling within city limits, police Lt. Travis Easter said.

On Wednesday, investigators from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service were seen at the complex.

Rhone was previously accused of shooting Moreno on Interstate 5 near state Route 905 on Oct. 13, 2023. Firefighters said they found the body lying in the burn area of a brush fire they had extinguished along the side of the freeway, investigators said at the time.

CHP officers arrested and booked Rhone 14 months later on suspicion of murder, attempted robbery, unlawful taking or driving of a vehicle and identity theft.

At the time of that arrest, Rhone had been in federal custody. Federal court records show that Rhone has previous firearm and parole violation convictions.

It was not immediately clear if Moreno’s death was connected to the human remains found at the apartment complex.

The property is listed on homes.com as a two-story, triplex on a 6,729-square-foot lot that sold in June 2023 as part of a probate case.

In a response to an active appeal filed by Rhone with the 9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in connection with his previous felony convictions, federal prosecutors said that over a six-month period and around the same time as Moreno’s killing, Rhone was arrested twice — and later convicted — on gun-and-drug-related charges.

The first arrest during that period occurred on June 20, 2023, when Rhone got into a confrontation with a San Diego police officer during a traffic stop, the federal court document reads. The officers later found an unregistered .45-caliber handgun in his front pocket, as well as crack cocaine and marijuana.

About a month after Moreno’s body was found, Rhone was arrested again on firearms allegations by San Diego police after they found a loaded shotgun with the serial number scratched off in a car he was driving, according to the appellate file.

Staff writer Alex Riggins and staff photographer Nelvin C. Cepeda contributed to this report.