Ryan Matthew Geraghty, 34, an ex-boyfriend of Elizabeth Lyn Vargas, was sentenced to six years in prison after pleaded guilty on Tuesday to attacking the former “The Real Housewives of Orange County” cast member.
Geraghty was arrested by the Newport Beach Police Department on Tuesday, February 1, 2022 after he went to the Newport Beach home Vargas, with whom he had a romantic relationship. He was arrested after pointing a gun at the woman and threatening to kill her for refusing to give him any more money.
Geraghty already has two prior strikes under California’s Three Strikes Law.
Geraghty was arrested by the Newport Beach Police Department on Tuesday, February 1, 2022 after he went to the Newport Beach home of a woman with whom he had a romantic relationship. He was arrested after pointing a gun at the woman and threatening to kill her for refusing to give him any more money.
Beginning on Christmas Eve 2021, Geraghty was accused of beginning to extort money from the woman in exchange for not selling nude photos of her to the media. After the woman told Geraghty she would no longer be providing him any more money, Geraghty punched her in the face. When she attempted to cut him off again, he pointed a gun at her and threatened to kill her.
Geraghty also forced Vargas to buy him a BMW.
On January 31, 2022, Geraghty shot a gun into the ceiling during an argument while Vargas hid in a closet.
On February 1, 2022, he he called Vargas to threaten that he was coming after her because she stole his car. She had by that time stopped payments on that vehicle.
He then came to her house with a gun, which he pointed in her face while threatening to kill her.
Newport Beach police arrested Geraghty when they heard a struggle over the phone while attempting to contact the victim.
Geraghty pleaded guilty to criminal threats, grossly negligent discharge of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon, sale or transport of a controlled substance and assault with a semiautomatic firearm, all felonies. He also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance and admitted sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a firearm.
Geraghty accepted a plea deal from O.C. Superior Court Judge Derek Johnson, who gave him credit for 920 days in custody (about two and a half years).
Geraghty already had two prior convictions for burglary in Los Angeles County in June 2008 and November 2016.
One has to wonder how Vargas ended up dating this guy.
“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.”
Deputy District Attorney Diana King of the Family Protection Unit prosecuted this case.
