Son of 'Real Housewives' star arrested for allegedly punching security guard
Josh Waring waits during a hearing in superior court in Santa Ana, CA on Friday, March 6, 2020. (Photo by Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
SANTA ANA, Calif. - Josh Waring, the son of a former cast member of "The Real Housewives of Orange County," is in trouble with the law again, this time for allegedly punching a security guard at a hospital in Orange.
Waring, 35, who was previously convicted of a shooting in Costa Mesa, was arrested last Wednesday and booked on suspicion of punching a security guard in the chest at Chapman Global Medical Center, 2600 E. Chapman Ave., according to Lt. Phil McMullin of the Orange Police Department. Police were dispatched to the hospital regarding the assault about 5:45 a.m. while Waring was being escorted out of the medical center, McMullin said.
Waring was also wanted on a warrant for a post-release supervision violation, McMullin said. A post-release supervision revocation hearing had been scheduled in his case at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Son of former 'Real Housewives' star sentenced to 2 years for drug charges
It wasn't the first time Waring has run afoul of his post-release supervision. He last appeared in court Nov. 7 for a revocation hearing and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, according to court records. He was released Dec. 12, but he failed to report to his probation officer and a warrant was issued for Waring, who was considered a transient in the San Juan Capistrano area, in January.
On July 25 of last year, Waring left the water running at a Motel 6 in Fountain Valley, damaging a room below, according to court records from probation officials. When officers went to talk to Waring, "he appeared confused and had slurred speech," probation officials said. Police saw Narcan and drug paraphernalia in the room with the shower running. He was taken to an area hospital, probation officials said.
On Aug. 7, he tested positive for fentanyl, hydrocodone and methamphetamine and failed to have a GPS device placed on him as required by probation, officials said.
Waring pleaded guilty in September of 2022 to a felony count of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to sell, one count of possession of a stun gun with a prior conviction, three counts of possession of a controlled substance, and one count of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, all misdemeanors.
Waring was given credit for 106 days in custody.
Waring possessed fentanyl and methamphetamine, according to Carrie Braun, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
Orange County sheriff's deputies said they found Waring in a car with a woman in a parking lot behind a business on Del Obispo and Ortega Highway in San Juan Capistrano on Jan. 6, 2022. Because he was a parolee, the deputies searched him and found several baggies of fentanyl on him, Braun said.
Waring pleaded guilty in January 2022 to possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 90 days in jail. As part of his plea deal at the time, misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and falsely representing himself to an officer were dismissed, along with misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and alteration of markings on an imitation firearm or device for a separate case.
Waring was previously arrested in June 2020 in Huntington Beach and charged that September with possession of a controlled substance — fentanyl — and drug paraphernalia and falsely representing himself to an officer, all misdemeanors.
Waring was arrested again on May 8, 2021, at Ridge Route Drive and Overlake in Lake Forest when deputies pulled over a rental car stolen from John Wayne Airport, according to Orange County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Todd Hylton.
Waring, who was in the passenger's seat, was accused of possession of fentanyl and methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia found in the car's glove compartment, Hylton said.
Waring pleaded guilty in March 2020 to single counts of assault with a firearm and leading police on a chase, and two counts of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, all felonies. He also admitted single misdemeanor counts of hit-and-run with property damage and battery.
Waring also resolved a separate case and pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine for sale and false personation, both felonies.
Waring was originally charged with three counts of attempted murder, along with a sentencing enhancement alleging attempted premeditated murder, for the June 20, 2016, shooting of Daniel Lopez, then 35, outside a home in Costa Mesa. Two other people escaped injury in the drive-by attack.
At the time of his plea deal, Waring was facing 65 years to life in prison, but instead he was sentenced to time served in jail awaiting trial.
Waring's mother, television personality Lauri Waring Peterson of "Real Housewives," told reporters following her son's plea deal that he wanted to pursue a career in law.
Waring reached a $595,000 settlement in a federal lawsuit with the county in September of 2021. Waring alleged in the lawsuit that his phone calls while in custody were illegally recorded and that sheriff's deputies set him up for an attack while in custody.