JOLIET, IL — The lengthy Joliet Police Department investigation into the hit-and-run fatality of 56-year-old avid Joliet bicyclist Donald "Donny" Shiner revealed that a married couple from Morris had just left Sidelines Sports Bar on West Jefferson Street at 2:47 a.m. before the crash.
Joliet police officers were notified that Shiner was found lifeless in the road along Larkin Avenue at 2:57 a.m. on Oct. 6, 2024. No arrests were made for nearly two years.
Then, in July, the Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow booked 36-year-old Morris resident Armand Melendez Jr. into the Will County Jail, charging him with failure to report an accident involving a death.
Prosecutors filed a petition to deny pretrial release against Melendez following his Joliet police arrest, showing that the 2010 Buick LaCrosse that killed Shiner was owned by Melendez's wife, Tiffany Romo, and she was riding as a passenger at the time of the hit-and-run fatality.
Romo, prosecutors revealed, testified in front of a Will County grand jury that they have lived on Nettle Drive in Morris for the past eight years. They got married in September 2021.
"Tiffany testified she was present in the vehicle on 10-6-24 and her husband was the driver. She said they figured they struck an animal —'we didn't see nothing. We drove home,'" prosecutors revealed she testified.
That particular weekend, Romo testified, she and her husband left Morris to watch the fights on television at a bar. They went to Anthony's Pub around 11 p.m. and left around 1:20 a.m. to go to Sidelines in the Marycrest shopping center.
Romo "testified that she had a couple of drinks at Anthony's, but the Defendant did not drink at all. She also stated that the Defendant does not use drugs of any kind - no marijuana and no prescription drugs," court files show.
According to Romo's court testimony, she and Melendez left Sidelines before bar closing time, around 2:30 a.m. or 2:35 a.m.
"She said when they left Sidelines, the defendant was driving. She testified that the defendant always drove and she was the 'passenger princess,' prosecutors revealed. "She said she had two drinks at Sidelines, and that the defendant had the key fob the whole time. She did not drive the vehicle that night and no one else drove besides her husband."
Morris Woman Remembers She "Was Not Intoxicated"
Prosecutors indicated Romo "also stated that she had drinks but was not intoxicated. She stated as they were driving on Larkin a little past Delta Sonic, that is when/where the accident happened. She testified she was on her phone and went to turn the radio down and then looked up and next thing was just a boom ... She said she freaked out and the Defendant got out of the car and went in front and looked at the car. There was a big boom and damage into the windshield primarily on her side. She testified her husband was not speeding and not going faster than he should have been. She stated he got back in the car and they took off."
Romo testified that "they did not contact the police. She stated they assumed they hit an animal —a deer — and it took off after they hit it. She said if she knew she hit a person, she would call 911. They both had their phones with them and neither of them called the police. When they got home, they did not inspect the car — they parked it and went inside," prosecutors pointed out.
Meanwhile, Will County prosecutor highlighted during the pretrial detention hearing that Shiner's bicycle was found in the roadway, and so was he.
"Defendant did not stay on scene and did not call to report the accident within 30 minutes of the accident," prosecutors emphasized.
Site Of Fatal Bicycle Crash "Well Lit And Urban"
When Joliet police responded at 2:57 a.m. to 219 South Larkin Avenue, they found Shiner's red-colored Trek bicycle illuminated with a white headlight, red blinking taillight, and each of the tires had lights on it, according to prosecutors.
Shiner was small, standing only 4-foot-9 and weighing 107 pounds. Joliet police found Shiner had no pulse when they tried performing CPR. He had a head wound and a fracture to his thigh. Shiner was taken to St. Joe's Hospital and pronounced dead.
The area where the fatality happened, right in front of the Culver's restaurant, had a 35-mph posted speed limit and Joliet police described it as "well-lit and urban."
Joliet's responding officers recovered evidence from the hit-and-run motorist.
"On scene, there was a piece of black debris with the marking GMX353 on it, which comes back to a General Motors," prosecutors outlined in their filing against Melendez. "There was also the house casing of a fog lamp. The fog lamp is associated with General Motors vehicles. There was also lamp housing and an amber triangle from a vehicle on scene. There was no evidence of braking, such as tire marks, at the scene."
Romo's Vehicle Damaged, Contains Blood
One day after the fatality, court files reflect, Joliet attorney Jeff Tomczak dropped off a sealed letter to the Joliet Police Department, and his letter stated "that an Armand Melendez was present in the area of the 200 block of South Larkin Avenue at approximately 2:30 a.m. and was possibly involved in an accident. Also, the vehicle involved is a 2010 Buick LaCrosse EK78235 ... This vehicle is registered to Tiffany Romo."
Joliet police detective Brad McKeon learned from Tomczak that the 2010 Buick LaCrosse remained at the married couple's house in the 400 block of Nettle Street in Morris "and that officers would have access to tow it as evidence of the crash."
Inside the Morris couple's garage, Joliet police found damage to the front passenger side associated with a crash. The front passenger side fog lamp was missing; there was contact damage on the passenger side of the hood; the outside casing of the passenger side mirror was missing, there was extensive contact damage on the windshield with what appeared to be blood and hair entangled with the broken glass, consistent with Shiner being hit riding his bicycle and going onto the hood and into the windshield, prosecutors said.
"There was also what appears to be red paint transfer on the passenger side of the vehicle, Shiner's bicycle had red paint. There was also a large amount of windshield glass inside the vehicle," court records explained. "The vehicle had an odor of alcoholic beverages in it."
In-Squad Camera Captures Morris Couple At Sidelines
After obtaining the license plate number, Joliet police determined that one of their on-duty officers stationed near the Sidelines Sports Bar at closing time captured video footage showing Romo and Melendez leaving Sidelines together shortly before the hit-and-run fatality.
"The video showed Defendant leaving the bar with Tiffany Romo and entering the Buick LaCrosse. The defendant got in as the driver and Tiffany as the front seat passenger. The video shows the vehicle leaving the bar around 2:47 a.m. — the headlights were on and intact, specifically the passenger's side at that time ... The defendant had a cup in his hand as he left. Tiffany also had a cup in her hand as she left the bar. There was a Flock license plate reader capture of the license plate on Larkin just south of Jefferson at 2:54:02."
Moreover, Joliet police obtained business security video from both Culver's and Sam's Club.
"The video, however, is not good enough to identify the license plate," prosecutors conceded. "The video shows ... the Buick LaCrosse southbound on Larkin from Jefferson and around the same time Shiner is on his bicycle, bicycle tire lights were going around, going northbound on Larkin in the southbound lanes. The vehicle hits Shiner and keeps going/does not stop and aid Shiner."
As for the wife and owner of the damaged car, prosecutors explained, "Tiffany Romo was brought into Grand Jury and testified under oath, she was not given immunity but her attorney Jerry King did not want any privileged communications asked based on spousal privilege.
"Tiffany testified she was present in the vehicle on 10-6-24 and her husband was the driver. She said they figured they struck an animal — 'We didn't see nothing. We drove home,'" she testified under oath, according to prosecutors.
Fallen Joliet Bicyclist Born In South Korea
As for the Joliet bicyclist, Shiner was born in South Korea in 1968.
"At the age of 6, Donny moved to the United States and was adopted by his parents, Tony and Jonelle Shiner," his obituary from Kurtz Memorial Chapel said. "He grew up in New Lenox and worked for many years as a handyman and landscaper in the Joliet, and formerly the Muncie, Indiana, areas. Donny was an avid bicyclist, riding thousands of miles a year, and was proud of his accomplishments of riding to the summit of Pike's Peak."
At the time of his death, Shiner was riding along one of Joliet's busiest streets, Larkin Avenue, in the middle of the night, on a weekend, at a time when many people are on their way home from the bars.
"Shiner did have several lights on his bicycle. It appears that Shiner was not wearing a helmet, according to traffic investigators," Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English told Joliet Patch for a story published in January 2025.
In last month's petition to deny pretrial release for Melendez, Will County prosecutors revealed that Shiner may have been riding his bicycle while being more than twice the legal limit to be intoxicated from alcohol.
"An autopsy was done and forensic pathologist Valerie Arangelovich determined Donald Shiner died as a result of multiple injuries due to a motor vehicle striking a bicyclist. Shiner's BAC was 0.182," the court documents show.
Judge Smigielski Rules Against Detention
In early July, long-time Will County Judge Art Smigielski presided over the prosecution's pretrial detention petition, trying to keep Melendez housed in Will County's Jail.
However, the judge ruled in favor of Tomczak Law Group defense lawyer Anna Rose Bertani and ordered her client freed from the jail.
The judge's order noted how he found "no willful flight" and "less restrictive means" were better than jail.
Melendez's next pretrial hearing is set for Sept. 9 in Judge Smigielski's Courtroom 503.
Related Joliet Patch coverage:
Bicycle Fatality: Lawyer For Hit-And-Run Driver Visited Police, No Charges Yet Filed
Bicyclist, 56, Dies In Joliet Hit-And-Run On Larkin Avenue
Joliet Bicyclist's Death By Hit-And-Run Driver Finally Leads To Morris Motorist's Capture: Police
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