Rohnert Park Hit-And-Run Suspect Pleads Not Guilty

A Santa Rosa man pleaded not guilty in Sonoma County Superior Court on Monday to a felony hit-and-run charge stemming from a collision with a bicyclist in Rohnert Park in October.

Jared Ramone Whisman-Pryor, 27, remains out of custody, and will return to court Monday morning for a bail hearing and settlement conference, his attorney Evan Zelig said.

The bicyclist, William Schilling, 68, of Santa Rosa, was riding south on Redwood Drive near Willis Avenue in Rohnert Park on Oct. 7 when he was struck by a southbound Honda motorcycle, Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety Sgt. Aaron Johnson said.

Schilling suffered spinal and pelvic injuries. He has finished physical rehabilitation and is recuperating at home, and is now able to walk with a cane, Johnson said.

Surveillance video and a description from a witness who was driving behind the motorcycle helped investigators identify Whisman-Pryor as the motorcyclist, Johnson said.

On Nov. 20, Rohnert Park police asked anyone who knew where Whisman-Pryor lived or worked to contact them, and they encouraged Whisman-Pryor himself to contact them to give his account of the collision.

Johnson said today that after he spoke to someone who had a conversation with Whisman-Pryor, he forwarded the case to the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office and on Dec. 6 obtained a $40,000 warrant for Whisman-Pryor's arrest.

Johnson said Zelig then contacted him, and Whisman-Pryor went to the court clerk's office to clear the warrant and appeared in court Monday.

-- Bay City News Service