New charge filed in serial rock assailant case

*Update 6/20* The man officials believe is responsible for multiple rock throwings along I-35 is facing a new charge related to one of the incidents. Patrick Eugene Johnson has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second degree felony, in the June 2014 incident in which 37-year-old Kenneth Johnson (no relation) was seriously hurt.

At about 2:37 a.m. on June 14, 2014 an APD officer responded to multiple 9-1-1 calls about a collision in the 3200 block of N I-35 northbound on the lower deck. The officer located the crashed vehicle and found Kenneth Johnson unconscious in the driver's seat.

The officer noticed an "almost symmetrical round hole" in the lower left corner of the crashed vehicle's windshield and later investigators rprocessing the scene found a rock, which officials say was comparable to a softball, in the car which was determined later to have blood on it.

Court documents show that about a month after the June 14, 2014 incident, records show that at about 2:37 a.m. a person identifying himself as Pat Johnson called and told a detective that he was southbound on N I-35 when he observed the victim vehicle swerve and strike the median. Pat told the detective he reported seeing nothing suspicious.

Upon further investigation, investigators were able to link Pat Johnson to other incidents. Those can all be found in the court documents here (PDF).

The Austin Police Department has made an arrest in the rock assailant case. Patrick Eugene Johnson a former tow trucker of Austin was arrested on Thursday by APD. Johnson has been charged with Attempted Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Third Degree Felony.

He is currently being held in the Travis County Jail. Bond is set at $250,000.

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Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo tweeted that he was "proud to announce our APD team has made an arrest on the serial rock assailant case. I'm grateful for the work of our men & women."

According to official documents, a University of Texas at Austin Police Department (UTPD) officer was traveling northbound in a marked UTPD police vehicle on I-35 around 2:30 am on Saturday, May 14, 2016. The UTPD officer noticed a rock was thrown from the southbound traffic lanes, across the concrete barrier, and towards his vehicle.

The UTPD police vehicle was equipped with a dashcam and captured the rock throwing on the recording. According to official documents, there was a suspect vehicle captured on the dashcam recording.

Records show Johnson as the registered owner of a car that is consistent in color and general appearance as the suspected vehicle. Additionally, official documents show Johnson phoned in a "traffic hazard" to the Austin Police Department on Saturday, May 14. Johnson's report stated that there was debris in the roadway on northbound I-35, approximately 16 minutes after the UTPD rock throwing incident.

On Wednesday, June 15, 2016, Johnson's roommate, Miguel Angel Rosalez, was brought into APD and questioned by officers. Roslaez admitted to being in the passenger seat of Johnson's vehicle and witnessing, in at least two separate incidents, Johnson throw a rock out of his vehicle towards vehicles in oncoming lanes of traffic along I-35.

According to official documents, Johnson admitted to throwing rocks from his vehicle on I-35 when questioned by APD detectives. When asked for a location of the incidents, Johnson stated that one incident occurred near "Capitol Plaza" and stated it was the 5500 block of I-35. Johnson also admitted that while on Highway 71 eastbound from I-35, he threw a rock over the barrier into oncoming traffic.

A search warrant conducted by APD also revealed that Johnson's silver Toyota Camry has damage consistent with rock scrapes from possible rock throwing incidents on the driver door's window frame.

Patrick Eugene Johnson was charged with Attempted Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Third Degree Felony. Johnson is currently being held in the Travis County Jail.

Johnson has made several calls to the FOX 7 newsroom with random information and news tips over the years. Other local Austin stations are reporting similar interactions with Johnson.

An arrest was also made over two weeks ago in one rock throwing case. The name of the individual arrested in that case was Marquel Raymond Boone. Boone was charged with Attempted Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Third Degree Felony.

There have been over 85 cases since 2014.

The Office of the Governor's Criminal Justice Division, joined by the Capital Area Crime Stoppers, announced a cash reward of up to $6,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person or persons responsible for the I-35 rock throwing attacks.