Rock-throwing suspect Patrick Eugene Johnson called 911 over 1,100 times since June 2014 to report collisions, traffic hazards and reckless driving on or near Interstate 35, according to court documents.
Over 80 of these calls were received within 30 minutes of the reported time of a rock-throwing incident, the documents said.
The new details are contained in an arrest affidavit charging Johnson, the main suspect in dozens of rock-throwing incidents in the past two years, with a new felony assault charge.
Johnson, 59, now faces three felony assault charges — each punishable with up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted — connected to rock-throwing incidents. He also is charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child in an unrelated 2013 case.
The latest charge, which was filed Thursday, is connected with an November 2015 incident that happened on Texas 71 near Riverside Drive. The victim was driving west on the highway and had just passed the Riverside Drive overpass when an object struck her windshield, according to an arrest affidavit.
The object hit her windshield near the top edge. The windshield shattered causing glass fragments to spray through the car’s cabin, but the object did not penetrate the windshield, the affidavit said.
The victim later told police she became “freaked” out and swerved her vehicle before regaining control. She pulled off the freeway to calm herself and then continued to her destination.
She did not report the incident until two days after it occurred when she realized that the rock thrower could have been involved, the affidavit said.
Johnson allegedly has admitted to throwing rocks from his silver 2015 Toyota Camry toward oncoming traffic. He told an Austin police detective that he threw a rock toward another car while traveling east on Texas 71 near Riverside Drive, the affidavit said.
Johnson’s roommate, a 19-year-old man, also witnessed Johnson throw rocks at vehicles at least two times while riding in Johnson’s car, the affidavit said.
Various 911 calls and impressions from Austin police automatic license plate readers have also placed Johnson near the scenes of numerous rock-throwing incidents, the affidavit said.
Johnson has remained in the Travis County Jail since June 16. His total bail is now set at $1.1 million, jail records showed.
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