Police: Assault victim recognized suspect in newspaper ad, Facebook

A man was in custody Tuesday on a robbery by assault charge after police say his victim identified him through a Crime Stoppers ad and on his Facebook page.

Police arrested 33-year-old Renny Harvard last week and charged him with robbery by assault, a second-degree felony. According to Harvard's arrest affidavit, a woman who worked at a nonprofit, low-income housing organization in the 800 block of East Eighth Street reported that Harvard came into her office in May and asked for some water by writing a note, indicating to her that he was deaf. Harvard then grabbed a stack of money on the woman's desk and her car keys, leading to a struggle, the affidavit said.

Harvard grabbed the keys to the woman's Jeep and left the office while the woman continued to fight him, the affidavit said. He entered the vehicle and drove off with her hanging onto the door before she fell off, the affidavit said.

When the woman spoke with detectives, she could not identify Harvard from a photo lineup, the affidavit said. But she saw him in a Crime Stoppers ad in the Austin American-Statesman and located his Facebook page, the affidavit said. She notified investigators, who on Friday identified fingerprints on the note as being Harvard's.

Harvard was in custody Tuesday on multiple felony charges, including three counts of burglary of a habitation, one count of burglary of a vehicle, two counts of theft between $20,000 and $100,000, and possession of a controlled substance