NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (KNX) — A 33-year-old Los Angeles man faces multiple felony charges after he allegedly threatened to kill a former girlfriend and attempted to extort money from her, according to Orange County prosecutors.
The victim, former Real Housewives of Orange County cast member Elizabeth Vargas, owned the home in which Ryan Matthew Geraghty barricaded himself Tuesday. The suspect was later arrested by Newport Beach police after they broke down the front door and found him threatening the reality star.
Vargas and Geraghty briefly dated, according to Vargas’ manager.
“Beginning on Christmas Eve 2021, Geraghty is accused of beginning to extort money from the woman in exchange for not selling nude photos of her to the media,” the office of O.C. District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement on Friday.
When Vargas refused to pay Geraghty more money, he allegedly punched her in the face, held her at gunpoint, and threatened to kill her, prosecutors alleged. He also allegedly forced her to buy him a BMW and shot a gun into the ceiling during an argument last month.
Geraghty now faces multiple criminal charges, including one felony count each of force or threat, assault with a firearm, criminal threats, corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant, grossly negligent discharge of a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a felon. He also faces two misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance, prosecutors said.
Geraghty previously pleaded guilty or no contest to charges of burglary, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and being in possession of ammunition and a controlled substance with intent to sell.
“There are some members of our society who are so violent that they cannot live among the rest of us,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “California’s Three Strikes Law was designed to protect law-abiding residents from being subjected to a never-ending campaign of violence by individuals who have no respect for the law and no respect for human life. Thankfully the Newport Beach Police Department prevented serious harm from coming to this woman and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office will do everything it can to prevent this violent criminal from being able to harm anyone else.”
Because of Geraghty’s record, he could face more than 75 years to life in prison.
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