After pleading not guilty last October, the Renton “rock thrower” gave a guilty plea before the start of the new year.

On Friday, Dec. 30, 2022, Shawn L. Perantie changed his plea to guilty before his scheduled trial and was convicted of five counts of reckless endangerment and one count of assault in the fourth degree.

It was determined by a judge that the time Perantie had already spent in jail satisfied the term of confinement and he was sentenced to 24 months probation and ordered to pay a victim penalty.

As part of the probation, Perantie must obtain a mental health evaluation and comply with recommended treatment, including taking prescribed medication.

Perantie was arrested and charged on Sept. 27 after an investigation spurred on by local drivers and the Renton-Issaquah community. Perantie was charged with second-degree malicious mischief and reckless endangerment due to vehicle damage caused by the suspect that amounted to over $2,200. He had initially pleaded not guilty on Oct. 13.

Local drivers who frequent SR 900 had been posting about and discussing a “rock thrower” or “rock lobber” on social media sites like Facebook and NextDoor for some time — complete with photographs, videos and descriptions of Perantie’s behavior.

From the police report, Perantie told officers that he “gets close to the cars in an attempt to scare them so they think about pedestrians next time they are driving.”