Ex-‘RHOC’ Star Josh Waring Viciously Attacked In Jail, Receives 20 Staples In Chest
Waring was arrested in 2016 for a shooting outside a sober living home in Costa Mesa and spent several years in jail.
Oct. 10 2019, Updated 10:49 p.m. ET
Three years after he was first accused of attempted murder, former Real Housewives of Orange County star Lauri Peterson’s son, Josh Waring, was attacked behind bars, RadarOnline.com can exclusively report.
The troubled ex-reality star, who has been rotting in an Orange County jail since June 2016, is in “terrible pain” after an inmate allegedly jumped and assaulted him with a makeshift weapon made of a pencil and blades, he told RadarOnline.com in an interview on October 10.
He claimed he struggled with the other inmate for about five minutes before O.C. Sheriff's deputies responded.
"I was fighting for my life ... I was screaming," Waring told RadarOnline.com exclusively in a phone call as his voice cracked. "As he's punching me, the blade sliced up my face and chest."
Waring said he received multiple stitches, which now run from his left eye to his jawline.
He also said the medical staff in the jail put 20 staples down his chest.
"It hurts ... I've gotten no antibiotics, but really, it's the emotional pain that's most difficult," he said.
After he left the jail infirmary, he was placed back in the same area of the prison, Waring alleged.
Peterson told RadarOnline.com said she is trying to contact officials from the OC Sheriff's Department and the O.C. D.A.'s Office to tell them about her concerns about her son’s safety.
"If I do die in here, I just want people to know I am innocent of the shooting," Waring said.
When contacted by RadarOnline.com, reps for the O.C. Sheriff’s Department and Central Jail said in a statement:
“Yesterday at approximately 6pm, there was an assault that occurred at the Intake Release Center between two male inmates. Both inmates were treated by medical staff at the jail for injuries sustained during the assault. A criminal investigation against the suspect has begun, along with an internal administrative investigation."
The statement continued: "The safety and security of inmates in our Custody is our primary responsibility and a charge we take seriously. With an average of more than 5,500 inmates in the Orange County Jail on a daily basis, we are continually working to protect the inmates in our care.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Waring was arrested on June 20, 2016 after he was accused of shooting a man in front of his home in Costa Mesa, California.
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Police told the Los Angeles Times that the defendant shot 35-year-old Daniel Lopez in the upper torso at around 2:30 a.m.
Waring has always maintained his innocence, and Peterson has advocated for his release for more than three years.
So far, the attempts have been unsuccessful. An Orange County judge denied his motion to dismiss his attempted murder case in March of this year.
