OC County judge charged with murder after fatally shooting his wife
Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson was charged on Friday for murder in the shooting death of his wife at their Anaheim Hills home.
Ferguson, 72, was arrested last week after his adult son called 911 to report his mother, Sheryl Ferguson, had been shot dead at the family's home in the upscale neighborhood of Anaheim Hills, the district attorney's office said in a statement.
Ferguson was booked into the Anaheim Jail and then later transferred to Orange County Jail on suspicion of murder and was being held on $1 million bail, McClintock said. He posted bond and was released at 2:05 p.m. last Friday, according to jail records.
Prosecutors want additional bail conditions because authorities recovered 47 weapons and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition during a search of his home. A rifle registered in his name is not accounted for, the statement said.
The criminal complaint alleges he used a Glock .40 and had threatened the victim earlier in the evening "by making a hand gesture indicative of pointing a gun at her."
The complaint notes the alleged homicide was done while he was an active judge and that the homicide was an act of domestic violence.
Ferguson's attorneys, Paul Meyer and John Barnett, issued a brief statement and declined to answer questions. "This is a tragedy for the entire Ferguson family. It was an accident and nothing more," his attorneys said.
Police did not release further details of the alleged crime. "Our thoughts go to the family," Orange County Superior Court Presiding Judge Maria Hernandez said in a statement last week.
"We all pray for their comfort during this trying time," Hernandez said. "Although no case has been filed with our court, when appropriate, we will take all necessary steps to ensure full compliance with our legal and ethical obligations. As this is a pending matter still under investigation, the court is unable to provide any further information at this time."
Orange County Superior Court leaders were advised of the arrest on Thursday night by Anaheim police, Hernandez said. The Fergusons had two sons, Kevin and Phillip, both adults.
Ferguson, a native of Oakland, earned a bachelor's degree in biological sciences and social ecology from UC Irvine in 1973. He earned his law degree in 1982 from Western State College of Law, beginning his legal career the following year in the Orange County District Attorney's Office, where he later became a senior prosecutor assigned to the Major Narcotics Enforcement Team.
He was president of the North Orange County Bar Association from 2012-14. The Orange County Narcotics Officers Association named him prosecutor of the year four times. He became a judge in 2015.
In 2017, he was admonished by the state Commission on Judicial Performance for comments he made on Facebook about a prosecutor who was campaigning to be a jurist and for maintaining "friends" status with three defense attorneys who had cases before him.
Sheryl Ferguson previously worked for the Santa Barbara and Orange County probation departments and later for the American Funds Service Company for almost 20 years prior to becoming a full-time mother.
Attorney Joel Garson said he got to know Sheryl Ferguson when he was a Boy Scout leader and her son Phillip was in his troop.
"She would come to all of the meetings," Garson said. "She was very active in his progress in Boy Scouts and even after him making Eagle Scout she would show up at old troop functions. She did T-shirt sales and whatever was asked of her. A lot of parents are drop-off parents and you never see them, but she was very active on the scout committee."
