HOUSTON – The man accused of breaking into a Houston restaurant Thursday and sexually assaulting a woman last year appeared Friday in court.
Usaveus Austin, 23, is facing five charges. He was charged with burglary and evading arrest after police said he broke into a Chick-Fil-A about 3 a.m. Thursday in southwest Houston. He also faces three other charges from an unrelated sexual-assault case.
Police said that when officers arrived, Austin fled into a wooded area and swam to an island in the middle of a retention pond. A dive team was called in to get Austin back to shore and arrested him.
Investigators said Austin is also the suspect in the sexual assault of a woman at her Greenspoint-area apartment in September 2016.
According to court documents, Austin forced his way into the woman’s apartment, abducted her, robbed her a gunpoint, threatened her life and sexually assaulted her.
Austin was charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping in connection with that case.
Police said Austin’s accomplice in the September incident is being sought.
