Overview
- Prosecutors announced Wednesday that Dwight William Rhone, 74, was arraigned on three additional murder counts, bringing the total charges to four; he pleaded not guilty and remains jailed without bail with a preliminary hearing set for March 2027.
- One newly charged victim was identified as Michael Brown after human remains found beneath a Southcrest home were tested, and two other counts tie Rhone to deaths from 1993 and 2002.
- Authorities say Ronald Johnken was found in Chollas Creek in 2002 with blunt‑force trauma to the head and Herierto Ruiz was discovered strangled in a Southcrest alley in 1993.
- Law enforcement agencies including the California Highway Patrol and the FBI executed a search warrant at a Newton Avenue property where Rhone once lived and recovered the remains that led to the new charges.
- Investigators are re‑examining other cold cases and missing‑person files, have named Danice Galloway and Antenogenes Gomez Velasquez as people of interest, and are asking the public to provide tips to help families seeking answers.