Newport Beach man accused of waterboarding wife, holding her captive

A 36-year-old Newport Beach man is facing multiple felony charges that he beat and tortured his 65-year-old wife in their home in January, according to Orange County Superior Court records.

Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Mark Geller told City News Service that Richard David Schlosser “kept her captive in the apartment for hours.… He actually waterboarded her.”

Geller declined to comment to The Times Community News. A Jan. 9 motion to increase Schlosser’s bail was sealed Wednesday after a reporter requested access to it.

Schlosser faces one count each of torture, corporal injury on a spouse, false imprisonment and criminal threats.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, court records show.

He also faces possible sentencing enhancements on allegations of causing great bodily injury and committing an offense while released from custody. At the time of the incident, Schlosser was out of jail on $50,000 bail in connection with a separate domestic violence case in Riverside County from December 2016. He has pleaded not guilty to felony charges in that case, court records show.

Schlosser, who is listed in jail records as unemployed, could face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted in the Newport Beach case.

Officers responded to Schlosser’s apartment in the 2700 block of Newport Boulevard at 10:17 a.m. Jan. 6 after someone called police to ask them to check on a woman at the home, said Newport Beach police spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella.

When officers arrived, they “identified a reason to believe a crime had occurred and entered the home to investigate,” Manzella said.

Schlosser was arrested that day. He is being held in Orange County Jail in Santa Ana with bail set at $2 million, according to jail records.

Schlosser’s wife alleged in a request for a restraining order filed in Superior Court that he attacked her for six hours from late Jan. 5 to early Jan. 6.

She alleged that he punched her — leaving her with a black eye — kicked her, hit her with a candelabra and cut her with scissors.

The restraining order request was dismissed after Schlosser’s wife did not appear at a hearing in February, court records show.

Police alleged in court documents that Schlosser also choked his wife and shoved a towel down her throat. She was hospitalized for her injuries, authorities said.

Geller told City News Service that Schlosser was under the influence of drugs and alcohol during the incident.

Schlosser is expected to appear in court in August for a pretrial hearing.

Fry writes for Times Community News