'Toxic Tush' Assistant Allegedly Attacked On Talk-Show Stage
DORAL (CBSMiami) – A man accused of being involved in South Florida's infamous "Toxic Tush" case was reportedly attacked while appearing on a talk show but no charges have been filed.
Doral police are investigating allegations that Corey Eubanks was hit above the eye with a fake syringe while he appeared on the Spanish-language television show "Palante con Cristina" hosted by Cristina Saralegui in the program's Doral studio on Wednesday night.
Eubanks told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that the first thoughts that he had were "Oh my God. Are you serious?" Eubanks told D'Oench, "I got a laceration on my forehead. There's going to be a scar there. I am really upset about it. Of course charges should be filed. Just like they lied about me, the truth will come out and God will turn everything around."
Outside after the incident, Eubanks said, "I was sitting here, talking to Christina when the mother jumped out of the audience, grabbed the syringe and hit me in the forehead."
When asked what went through his mind, he replied, "I wanted to scream as loud as I could."
Eubanks, who had a band-aid on his forehead, told police he was hit by a prop syringe that was being used as a prop on the show. Photographs released by his attorney Jim Lewis on Thursday showed a cut above his left eye. The prop syringe had no needle and was apparently wrapped in plastic.
Eubanks, 40, of Hollywood, is accused of being an assistant to Oneal Ron Morris, also known as "Duchess," who police say duped women into paying for injections of a near-lethal chemical formula to enhance their butts, only to find themselves sick and disfigured.
Prosecutors say the formula was made up of Fix-a-Flat, cement, mineral oil and superglue.
Eubanks told police the person who attacked him was Brunetta Brown, the mother of alleged victim Shaquanda Brown.
"I had nothing to do with this," said Eubanks. "The heat shouldn't be coming my way."
D'Oench also spoke with Rajee Narinessingh, who said she too was a victim of Oneal Ron Morris and who said she was left disfigured. She was at the "Cristina" show and described "a scene of chaos." She said, "It became heated and Brunetta Brown lunged over Shaquanda to get to Corey. It was terrible. I broke my nail and the crowd was just pushing in."
Gabriela Novo, who is Eubanks's attorney and was a translator for him on the show, said she too was a victim because she was hit by debris. "When they stormed the stage they picked up all the props and threw stuff at Corey and me. I felt it was wrong. It got out of hand and shouldn't have gotten to this point."
"While there was some security in back, they did nothing to stop this. It got out of hand," said Eubanks's lead attorney, Jim Lewis. "We had warned them about this and had asked about this."
Lewis also filed for a restraining order against Shaquanda Brown and her mother on behalf of Eubanks.
"This would make sure they would have to stay at least 500 feet away from him and have no contact and not be able to intimidate him," said Lewis.
Shaquanda Brown, who spoke to CBS4 News for the first time Thursday, said she almost died after what she called a botched cosmetic surgery.
"It was a bad buttock in injection," said Brown. "He knows what he did. He almost took my life."
Brown, a mother of two, spent 38 days in the hospital.
Wednesday night, she appeared on the Spanish language show for what she thought was a show about fake cosmetic procedures.
But 20 minutes before show time, Corey Eubanks joined Shaquanda on the stage.
She said things got out of hand after Eubanks accused her of lying.
While Eubanks alleges Shaquanda's mother attacked him, Shaquanda said that's not true.
"He came after me. No one attacked him," said Shaquanda.
According to the police report, witnesses on the set aren't really sure who started the scuffle which led police to the Doral studio Wednesday night.
Police requested video of the incident but the producer of the show said it wasn't available for review yet.
Due to conflicting statements, lack of witnesses who could identify the aggressor, and lack of video, police did not file any charges but that may change once the video is made available.
Both Morris and Eubanks are charged with practicing medicine without a license.
They have both pleaded not guilty and are out on bail while their cases move forward.
