Delavan hit-and-run, man charged in 2020 death
DELAVAN, Wis. - A Whitewater man has now been charged in connection to a fatal 2020 Delavan hit-and-run.
Prosecutors say 35-year-old Travis Brown struck and killed Noe Rendon Jr. and later told officials he "hit a deer" hundreds of miles from the scene.
"There’s allegations of drinking and driving, hitting the victim, not stopping," said Assistant District Attorney Samuel Berg. "Then stopping, showing knowledge and consciousness of what happened, and then continuing."
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
Delavan police responded to a home on Fox Lane around 10:10 p.m. the night of Nov. 14, 2020 and found the 59-year-old Rendon unresponsive. A criminal complaint states Rendon was found knocked out of his shoes. He was near an open mailbox with the mail still inside it, and his cellphone was in the road. An autopsy determined Rendon died of blunt force injuries in a "pedestrian versus vehicle crash."
The complaint states a woman spoke to investigators four days after Rendon's death. She said she was on the phone with Rendon around 9:40 p.m. the night of his death. She said he told her he was going to get the mail and, shortly after, the call ended – she thought the call had dropped.
Noe Rendon, Jr.
In February 2021, the complaint states investigators spoke to a man who said Brown had been drinking the night of Nov. 14, 2020. The man said they were with a group who left a bar, and he was driving behind Brown when Brown pulled over on Fox Lane. The man said he asked Brown if everything was alright, but Brown did not answer, walked around his truck and shook his head. The man said he assumed everything was fine because Brown didn't say anything, and the two drove off.
Investigators reviewed surveillance from the area. While the video did not show Rendon being hit, it did show vehicles driving in a path similar to what the man described to investigators around 9:40 p.m. – approximately the same time the woman recalled her conversation with Rendon disconnected.
Another woman spoke to police in March 2021. The complaint states she said she was with her brother, the other man and Brown at the bar the night of Nov. 14, 2020. She said she and her brother were driving and saw what they thought was a deer in the road. They stopped, found Rendon and attempted CPR until first responders arrived. The brother denied knowing Brown had hit anyone.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android.
According to the complaint, Brown reported a crash to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation on Nov. 20, 2020 – six days after Rendon's death. He said he "hit a deer" in Burnett County – more than 300 miles northwest of Delavan. Insurance records showed where Brown had his truck serviced, and investigators obtained pictures from that business. The pictures showed the damage to Brown's truck before it was repaired.
Investigators showed those pictures to a Wisconsin State Patrol crash reconstruction expert, per the complaint, who determined the damage was "not consistent" with a truck hitting a deer but "was consistent" with the truck hitting a pedestrian.
The complaint states it was not Brown's first crash. In April 2018, prosecutors say he was involved in a single vehicle rollover crash and left the scene without reporting it to law enforcement. He received multiple citations, including a citation for failing to notify law enforcement.
Travis Brown
"There’s no prior criminal history of this person," said Defense Attorney Thomas Gardiner.
Brown made his initial court appearance Wednesday, Nov. 1 after court records indicate a warrant was issued for his arrest. His cash bond was set at $100,000.
"To me – you are a coward," said Ruben Rendon, the victim's brother. "He should sit and think about his actions, as we sat and waited three years for answers."
The Delavan police chief told FOX6 News the department referred charges to the district attorney's office in June 2021. FOX6 reached out to the district attorney's office about the delay in those charges being filed, but did not hear back by Wednesday's deadline.