Records say Dwight William Rhone, now 74, threatened to poke a cellmate’s eyes out before a 1980 rape as he awaits trial in an unrelated 2023 killing.
SAN DIEGO, CA— A court memorandum says Dwight William Rhone threatened to blind a jail cellmate before raping him in 1980, a detail emerging as the 74-year-old murder defendant was named a person of interest after human remains were recovered this week at a Southcrest home. Rhone remains jailed in San Diego on charges in an unrelated 2023 homicide.
Rhone’s criminal history and the newly surfaced account have drawn fresh scrutiny as investigators work to identify remains found Tuesday at a house on Newton Avenue. Prosecutors say Rhone is already charged with killing 54-year-old Bernardo Moreno last year in a case that includes arson and evidence of post-crime travel and financial activity. The district attorney’s office said Friday the Southcrest dig yielded a single set of remains and that the medical examiner will determine identity and cause of death. Officials have not connected the cases, and no charges related to the remains have been filed against Rhone. He was listed as a person of interest because he previously lived at the property, authorities said.
According to the filing, Rhone made the threat while jailed in 1980 awaiting extradition to Texas. “I could poke your eyes out with the strength I have over you or I could crack my skull if I don’t get enough thrill out of that,” the document quotes him as saying. Hours later, the memo states, he grabbed the man by the throat inside their cell, slammed his head into a wall, punched him repeatedly and forcibly sodomized him. Another court record says he told the victim he “did not care” if the assault was reported because he was headed to prison anyway. Rhone was later convicted of sodomy in a custodial setting and required to register as a sex offender, records show. Over the decades, filings describe repeat failures to register, along with stretches in state prison for robberies and other violent offenses. “Over the past 50 years, defendant has committed an almost incomprehensible number of crimes with the consistency of a clock,” a prosecutor wrote in a 2019 brief opposing his release.
In the separate homicide case, prosecutors allege Rhone shot Moreno twice in the head on Oct. 13, 2023, and set his body on fire along Interstate 5 near state Route 905. Investigators say they later tied Rhone to the killing using cellphone data and DNA collected from items left behind, including a Boston Red Sox cap and a plastic rotisserie chicken bag. A declaration supporting an arrest warrant says Rhone tried to use Moreno’s debit card at a smoke shop after the killing and, later that day, robbed a woman at gunpoint in Carlsbad while carrying the same bag. After Rhone’s subsequent arrest, the FBI began monitoring recorded jail calls, where, according to a filing, he said he would “go to death row” for his dog and referenced a dogfight dispute with the victim. Retired FBI special agent Jennifer Coffindaffer called the alleged post-shooting arson “extremely violent and unusual,” adding that it stood out even among homicide cases.
Detectives, the FBI and other agencies served a search warrant Tuesday at a Southcrest property tied to Rhone’s past tenancy and recovered the remains of one person after days of digging in the yard and searches beneath the house. The address is on the 3400 block of Newton Avenue. By Thursday, investigators had cleared the scene, and the district attorney’s office said the medical examiner would perform an autopsy. Officials have not said how long the remains may have been at the property, whether they belong to a man or a woman, or whether other evidence was collected. The current residents, who are not connected to the investigation, were temporarily relocated during the search, authorities said. Police have emphasized that Rhone has not been charged in connection with the discovery and that identifying the remains could take weeks.
Court records collected by investigators paint a picture of long-term criminal conduct and drug use. A 2007 psychological evaluation quoted Rhone as saying, “I like to get high. I’m a junkie at heart, but I know I need help.” Filings list convictions for armed robberies, perjury and weapons violations, alongside repeated supervision failures. Prosecutors have cited those records to argue Rhone should remain in custody without bail in the Moreno case. In one 2019 filing, Deputy District Attorney Zachary Wallace wrote that Rhone “manages to commit crimes” even while behind bars, pointing to the decades-old jail assault and other incidents. Defense filings challenging the strength of the state’s homicide evidence had not been publicly docketed as of this week; public defenders typically decline comment on pending cases, and no defense attorney statement was immediately available.
Investigators say the Moreno case gained traction through a combination of forensics and digital records. DNA from the rotisserie chicken bag was matched to Rhone, one filing states, while cellphone location data and security camera footage placed him at key locations. Separate court documents describe letters allegedly sent from jail asking an associate to hide Moreno’s truck because Rhone “was involved in a certain incident on a felony scale.” The documents also refer to monitored jail calls in which Rhone allegedly discussed the dogfight that preceded the shooting. Authorities have not released a timeline of those calls or letters, and it remains unclear whether any additional suspects or witnesses face charges stemming from the 2023 homicide.
At the Southcrest property, neighbors said they watched investigators in hazmat suits dig multiple pits in the backyard this week and crawl under the house. Some residents described a steady stream of law enforcement vehicles and a taping-off of the street as crews worked. A neighbor who shared photos of the excavation described the effort as “meticulous,” noting that agents used shovels and sifting screens through the dirt. The current homeowner told reporters he evicted Rhone last year and paid him to leave, saying he had no connection to the investigation beyond previously renting to him. Family members, in separate interviews, spoke of Rhone’s long history of trouble and strained relationships, calling him “unsavory” and “volatile.” Those accounts could not be independently verified by authorities, who have not disclosed when or how Rhone’s tenancy at the house ended.
Prosecutors say Rhone remains in county jail on the murder charge and related counts, and is due back in court next week for the Moreno case. The district attorney’s office has not announced any charges stemming from the Newton Avenue discovery. The medical examiner’s autopsy is pending, and police have not said when they expect identification results. If the remains are identified, investigators could move to compare timelines and associates tied to the property. Officials have not scheduled a public briefing, but say updates will be provided when the medical examiner’s findings are complete. In the meantime, police continue to review evidence collected at the scene and are evaluating whether additional search warrants are necessary.
By Friday afternoon, the Southcrest block had reopened and the dig crews were gone, leaving behind patched earth and a cord-stained fence. What remains is a widening criminal timeline and a central unknown: the identity of the person recovered at the house. Rhone stays in custody as prosecutors press forward on the 2023 homicide. The next expected milestone is his scheduled court appearance next week, while the autopsy and identification process continues.
Author note: Last updated December 6, 2025.