Son of ex-‘Real Housewives’ star could be moved to Santa Ana jail following attack in county lockup

The son of a former “Real Housewives of Orange County” cast member, who claims sheriff’s deputies have failed to protect him while he awaits trial on attempted murder charges, might be moved out of the Orange County jail system and into Santa Ana’s lockup while pursuing a bail reduction — if a judge agrees.

The revelation that Orange County sheriff’s officials were discussing a transfer of Joshua Waring came Wednesday during a hearing before Orange County Superior Court Judge Jonathan Fish. It was the first time Waring’s attorney, Joel Garson, had heard about the plan.

Fish must sign off on the move, and he wants to make sure Santa Ana’s jail can accommodate Waring’s medical needs.

Garson also said during the hearing that his client wants kosher food because it comes prepackaged, which ensures it can’t be tampered with.

“It’s more of a safety than a religious issue,” Garson told the judge.

A sheriff’s deputy insisted Waring eat dinner recently though the defendant rejected it, which aroused his suspicions it may have been tampered with, Garson told City News Service after the hearing.

Waring, the son of Lauri Peterson — a “Real Housewives” cast member from 2006 to 2008 — is facing three counts of attempted murder and other felony and misdemeanor charges in connection with a shooting at a former sober-living home in Costa Mesa in June 2016. He could face multiple life sentences if convicted.

According to Garson, a blade-wielding inmate attacked Waring on Oct. 9 at the Intake-Release Center in Santa Ana, and he was in a jail wing June 24 of last year when a deputy opened fire with a pepper-ball launcher.

Vanessa Reid-Mena, a custodian of records for the Sheriff’s Department, testified on Wednesday that she could not initially find a police report on the pepper-ball incident because, in part, it was filed about a month afterward and did not include Waring’s name. Instead, it was indexed with that of another inmate who was present in the jail wing that day, Garson said after the hearing.

Reid-Mena said the system is arranged by the date of filing, not the date of the event. Also, she added, the incident was not written up in a log of jail activity the way it should have been, making it more difficult for her to track it down to comply with a subpoena.

Orange County prosecutors previously reviewed the pepper-ball incident and declined to file charges but have since reopened their investigation.

The two deputies involved in the pepper-ball incident were placed on administrative leave, according to sheriff’s spokeswoman Carrie Braun.

Garson suspects that Waring was targeted for attacks when he raised allegations of outrageous governmental conduct regarding the improper recording of phone calls from inmates to their attorneys.

Garson also is seeking testimony from two sheriff’s deputies on allegations that there was a 90-minute delay in the medical treatment of Waring after the October slashing attack.

Waring was returning to his cell after making a phone call on his legal case when he was allegedly attacked by fellow inmate Jose Dejesus Guzman.

The inmate had been ordered to get back in his cell, along with others in that jail wing, but appears to have hidden behind the stairs, according to Garson, who said his client needed 20 staples to his body, as well as stitches and butterfly bandages on his face, to treat his wounds.

No charges have been filed against Guzman thus far, according to a spokeswoman from the Orange County district attorney’s office.

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