Josh Waring is currently in jail awaiting his second trial on an attempted murder charges. Waring, son of former Real Housewives of Orange County star says he will go on a hunger strike to protest the 'violation of his constitutional rights' by authorities in Orange County.
"We're doing a hunger strike, me and a friend in here called Jonathan Martinez," he told The Daily Mail. "We're just gonna peacefully protest a lot of these constitutional violations here."
"We're sick of it. By no means do we think that the Sheriff's Department (will change), they probably want us to go ahead and starve ourselves, but we're not doing it for them, we're trying to get the public to see that we're willing to sacrifice for change."
He continued: "We're hoping to bolster our arguments and show what they're doing."
Waring's main gripes is that law enforcement inappropriately monitored and recorded his phone calls in jail while he was representing himself in the case.
During the hundreds of calls made in the months after his arrest Waring discussed his defense strategy with family and friends.
The information gleaned from the confidential calls was provided to prosecutors - violating Waring's right to a fair trial. reports the publication.
"I had a court order stating I should have unmonitored phone calls, but they listened in any way," he told The Daily Mail. "Not only did they listen, they gave the recordings to Costa Mesa Police Department."
He added: "While I'm representing myself talking with my family about defense strategy, talking about what witnesses I want to use, my entire game plan, they have everything I'm doing at trial, they're already completely fully aware of my entire strategy."
As previously reported, Waring is facing three counts of attempted murder and other felony and misdemeanor charges in connection with a shooting that injured a man at a former sober-living home on Babb Street in Costa Mesa in June 2016. Waring, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, could face multiple life prison sentences if convicted.
Waring said his mother Lauri and girlfriend Shelby have been a huge support during his time behind bars.
"They've been awesome, great. They're probably the thing that keeps me going. My family, Shelby's great. My daughter, they're kind of acting inadvertently as my defense team."
Waring says his mom has been to every single court appearance and he speaks to her and Shelby on the phone almost daily.
Shockingly, Waring insists being thrown into jail for a crime he claims he didn't commit does have a silver-lining. "Hindsight's 20/20, but I don't regret anything," he explains.
"I know it sounds crazy, but I'm thankful for the system. I'm thankful for the corruption locally because if it wasn't for a lot of this stuff, I'd probably be doing the same thing right now," he told The Daily Mail. "I'm not out there getting loaded, throwing my life away."
"It took this to change my life, that's the silver lining."
Waring, who was hooked on heroin, said that when he first arrived in jail he took drugs and drank illegal prison hooch to get by but reveals that he has now been sober for ten months and is focused on his release and making a fresh start.
Josh's mom Lauri agrees that there has been some positives to this unfortunate situation.
"I've always said that that is the silver lining, I really feel that he was on a path... I was waiting to get the call that he had overdosed," she explained. "But on this last occasion when I get the call about his arrest, it just didn't make sense for me because it just isn't Josh, that's not who he is, he's never been a violent person, never has hurt anybody else."
Peterson reveals that the legal process and alleged corruption has been hugely eye-opening for her.
"There's a lot of hearings and the more hearings we go through, the more we find out how Josh's rights have been violated and it's very disturbing for me to see what is actually happening in Orange County. It's shocking," she explains. "I mean, you hear these things, you see it in movies and you think, okay, this doesn't really happen, but it is happening and it's systematic and it's a lot deeper, I think, than what anybody knows."
Peterson said she is 'worried' about her son's hunger strike plan, but fears that the system will continue to let her son down despite his protest.
"I think there's a lot of fear in Orange County to do the right thing for a lot of different people, whether it's judges, sheriffs, attorneys, whatever," she said. "I would be surprised if the judge does the right thing."
She added: "But bottom line, you're never going to find a jury to find Josh guilty of this attempted murder because he didn't do it. And it's there. If you look at all of the evidence, there is no evidence against him."
Waring is due back in court on July 26 when a judge will decide whether his case will be dismissed or go to trial in September.
He added: "If I do get out, assuming I do get out, then I will in some capacity try to involve myself in criminal litigation or justice reform. I really feel that way. It's just something that I'm just gonna never forget."
Photo Credit: Google Images
- Home-icon
- About Us
- _About
- _Advertise
- _Contact
- _Disclaimer
- _FAQ
- _Subscribe
- Current Shows
- __RHOA
- __RHOBH
- __RHOD
- __RHODubai
- __RHOM
- __RHONJ
- __RHONY
- __RHOC
- __RHOP
- __RHOSLC
- __RHUGT
- International Shows
- __RHOAKL
- __RHOAMS
- __RHOCT
- __RHOCheshire
- __RHODurban
- __RHOHungary
- __RHOJ
- __RHOJersey UK
- __RHOLagos
- __RHOMelbourne
- __RHOS
- __RHOT
- __RHOV
- Exclusives
- TV Listings
- GOT A TIP?