SANTA ANA, California — A judge in Southern California was charged with killing his wife and went on the stand on Monday to defend himself. He said that he shot her by accident with the gun he wore in an ankle holster.
Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, 74, of Orange County Superior Court told a full courtroom that he and his wife of 27 years, Sheryl, had been fighting because she thought his adult son from a previous marriage wasn’t thankful for the money they had given him and her. Ferguson has said he is not guilty and never meant to kill his wife.
He said, “I didn’t mean to kill her.” “It was an accident.”
Ferguson was drunk and fighting with his partner when he and his partner went to a Mexican restaurant with their son Phillip on August 3, 2023. Seton Hunt, the prosecutor, said that the fights continued at home until Sheryl Ferguson told her husband to point a real gun at her, which he did and then fired.
Ferguson said that he had two or three drinks after work a few nights a week. When his lawyer, Cameron J. Talley, asked Ferguson if he kept alcohol by his desk because he was a drinker, Ferguson just shrugged and said, “Yes.”
Ferguson was arrested, and in words caught on a police video, he begged the jury to find him guilty.
Listen to what Ferguson says: “I killed her.” “I did it.”
Lawyers in Orange County, which is between Los Angeles and San Diego and home to 3 million people, are very upset about the case. Ferguson testified about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away from where he used to hear criminal cases. To avoid a conflict of interest, his hearing is being run by a judge from Los Angeles.
During his opening statement, Talley said that his client had been drinking when he took off the gun that he always wore in an ankle clip and went to set it down on a table. He told Talley that Ferguson dropped the gun and then reached to pick it up, but it went off with a “bang.” The shot was what Talley called a “accidental discharge.”
The judge told the jury, “He’s shocked.” “He thinks it’s a dream, and the fact that he’s a little drunk doesn’t help.”
A lot of video from cameras worn by police officers who went to the couple’s home in Anaheim Hills after the killing has been shown in court. There is also video of Ferguson crying and saying that his son and everyone else would hate him while he was being arrested at the police station after being found guilty.
The gun and more than 26,000 rounds of ammo were among the 47 weapons and ammunition found by the police at the house. Hunt said that Ferguson had a lot of experience and training with guns and with handling violent crime cases. Phillip Ferguson said that his father taught him gun safety, like always pointing a gun in a safe direction.
Jeffrey Ferguson and his son both called 911 right away after the shooting. Ferguson also texted his court clerk and officer to say, “I just lost it.” I killed my wife. I’m not coming in tomorrow. I will be locked up. A copy of a text message Hunt showed the jury said, “I’m so sorry.”
Ferguson was freed on $1 million bail in 2023, but he was arrested again last year after Hunter discovered he had lied about drinking alcohol, which was against the terms of his bail. Ferguson was later set free on bail of $2 million.
Ferguson has been an Orange County judge for ten years, but he is not taking cases right now. The state’s constitution says that a judge who is being charged with a crime can still get paid, but they can’t hear cases.
Ferguson started working as a lawyer in 1983 in the office of the district attorney. He then moved on to work on drug cases, for which he won several awards. The North Orange County Bar Association put him in charge from 2012 to 2014.
In 2017, the Commission on Judicial Performance scolded him for making a Facebook post about a judicial candidate “with knowing or reckless disregard for the truth of the statement” and for being friends on Facebook with lawyers who were in court with him, according to a copy of the report.
