NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (KNX) — A 33-year-old Los Angeles man was charged Thursday in connection with an alleged attack on a former Real Housewives of Orange County cast member in her Newport Beach home.
Ryan Matthew Geraghty was charged with single felony counts each of extortion, assault with a firearm, criminal threats, corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant, possession of a firearm by a felon, and grossly negligent discharge of a firearm; as well as two misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance.
Geraghty also faces sentencing enhancements for personal use of a firearm.
Police responded to a call for a welfare check shortly before 6 p.m. on Tuesday in the 100 block of Medina Way in Newport Beach. There, they found the suspect barricaded inside the home, owned by former Real Housewives of Orange County star Elizabeth Vargas, reportedly Geraghty’s ex-girlfriend.
After about two hours, officers entered the home and found the suspect armed “actively threatening Vargas.
Geraghty was arrested. After speaking with Vargas, police conducted a search of the residence and ordered temporary evacuations of nearby homes. No other suspects were found.
Vargas' manager, David Weintraub, issued a statement to City News Service saying, "Elizabeth is doing great now.
"She wants to thank the Newport Beach Police Department and SWAT teams for saving her from harm's way. This was a traumatic experience for her and she feels blessed that she survived,” Weintraub said.
Vargas reportedly called Newport Beach police earlier in the day to report what she believed to be an extortion attempt by Geraghty. It is not known whether the extortion charge filed against Geraghty was connected with that report, or occurred during the barricade incident.
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