The son of former Real Housewives of Orange County star Lauri Peterson has been in jail for the last ten months awaiting trial for attempted murder.  

Joshua Waring, 28, spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the serious charges he is facing and the role he says the reality show has played in his troubled life.

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, a count of vehicle theft, a count of shooting at another person from a motor vehicle and a count of evading police while driving recklessly, all felonies; as well as misdemeanor charges of battery, resisting an officer and hit-and-run with property damage, along with possible sentencing enhancements on allegations of personal use of a firearm and inflicting great bodily injury. If convicted he could face life in prison.

But Waring insists he is not guilty, and is prepared to face trial.

“I’m not nervous because I’m innocent,” he said. “I didn’t do it.”

Waring’s mother, Lauri Peterson, was a regular cast member on RHOOC on Bravo for multiple seasons, and Joshua also appeared on the show occasionally, as his mother spoke openly of her struggles and fears around his drug addiction.  

 “The show took my problems and put a bull’s eye on my back for law enforcement,” Waring says in the interview.

“The last 10 years of my life has been focused on how to be a criminal, stay on drugs and feel comfortable. I don’t feel comfortable without being loaded,” Waring admitted.

Waring is awaiting trial for a shooting that took place in June last year outside a home in Costa Mesa, California, in which one man was severely injured. The house in the 2900 block of Babb Street was previously a sober-living home, but had become just the opposite.

Waring was there sometime after midnight, driving a girlfriend’s BMW X3, reportedly to pick up another friend.  He encountered someone named Ronald D., who was reportedy not happy that Waring was driving the BMW, so Ronald threw the car owner’s belongings into the street.  

According to Waring, he learned a few hours later that a shooting had occurred at the location, and a man identified in court papers as Daniel L. was wounded. According to the Los Angeles Times, Waring and the shooting victim did not get along.

“They’re going to think it’s me,” Waring says was his first thought. 

Waring fled the scene, but police tracked the BMW and ultimately found Waring hiding in the restroom of a nearby business.

Today, Waring clutches a photo of his 4-year-old daughter, dressed in a fairy costume. In this bleak time for Waring, this bring him comfort.  “

“.. when I talk to her, it just makes everything better. Her voice just melts my heart,” Waring says.

Peterson has been raising the daughter while her son is in custody, as the little girls’s mother, Hannah Waring, 24, is also reportedly in jail, facing robbery charges.

[Feature Photo: Casey Rodgers/AP Images for Virgin America]