Joshua Waring is the son of Real Housewives of Orange County celebrity Lauri Peterson, but he’s known more for his time off-screen. He’s addicted to drugs, and he’s been spiraling down the rabbit hole since 2008. However, his problems have reached a tipping point with his latest charges. “Waring faces three counts of attempted murder, one count of unlawfully discharging a firearm at an inhabited dwelling, three counts of assault with a firearm, one count of vehicle theft, one count of shooting at another person from a motor vehicle and one count of evading police while driving recklessly, all felonies,” a Los Angeles Times article states.
He was possibly involved in a drive-by shooting, but he’ll attend his hearing in early June. If he’s convicted he could spend his life in prison.
Peterson’s distraught, but she’s focusing on her family. She has to be strong for her granddaughter Kennedy, Waring’s 4-year-old daughter. She and her husband adopted the little girl a few months after her 2012 birth; her parents were fighting their own demons at the time, so she needed somebody to take care of her. She was just a baby. Even though Peterson was preparing for retirement with her spouse, she was too attached to Kennedy to put her in foster care. She’s been raising her son’s child, while he’s been nursing his opiate addiction. “During a preliminary hearing last year, Waring told Orange County Superior Court Judge W. Michael Hayes that he fled from police because he was heading to pick up drugs,” the article states.
He has an impressive rap sheet, but his recent run-in with law enforcement may be his last. However, he could be spared from a life sentence. “Waring said during a jailhouse interview las week that the results of the residue test — performed to help determine whether a suspect had recently fired a gun — could clear him,” the article continues.
His conviction may be inevitable, but his daughter needs her father. Hopefully, he can get sober for her sake, even if only behind bars.
