Warren police arrest driver, recover car in fatal hit and run of bicyclist

WARREN, Mich. (FOX2) - A huge break in the case of a Warren hit and run that left a 60-year-old man dead. 

Less than 24 hours after the family of Randy Menendez made a plea for answers in his death, police found the vehicle - and then the driver - that hit him.

The car was covered up in a Detroit backyard - shortly after that, police had their suspect.

"Last night was the first night I could sleep a few hours," said Rosanne Menendez, the victim's sister. "I knew that they had him and I knew they were going to seek justice."

Knowing is everything - finding the car and the suspect police say is responsible.

"That was an accident okay, it was an accident until they left the scene of the crime then it was a murder," she said.

Randy was riding his bike Super Bowl Sunday at about 6:30 p.m. crossing Groesbeck, just north of 10 Mile when the police say a Dodge Charger hit him.

When police said it found the Dodge Charger around 4 in the afternoon Wednesday, in a backyard on Collingham in Detroit. A tarp was covering it, perhaps to cover the evidence of a crash all over it.

"They left my poor brother for dead," said Rosanne Menendez. "That is a part we can't reconcile."
 
"The work that was done by these detectives was unique - the techniques they used, the surveillance that was utilized, the resources by our special operations unit and the entire detective bureau, was outstanding," said Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer.

Police say they used special surveillance to catch the 24-year-old suspect going to his car in Roseville about an hour after finding the car - and they brought him in.

"He was surprised at first," said Christopher Skridulis, Warren police. "He knew why he was here."

Dwyer says the man confessed to driving the Charger the night of the crime and made other admissions.

"The suspect indicated he was traveling 70 miles per hour at the time he struck the victim," said Dwyer.

Now a suspect with only traffic tickets will likely get the book thrown at him for taking a beloved man from his family.

The suspect is expected to be arraigned Friday morning after a warrant is signed.