A former veteran Orange County Superior Court judge who pulled a pistol from his ankle holster and fatally shot his wife during a heated argument at the couple’s Anaheim Hill’s home received a life sentence on Wednesday, Sept. 17, for a killing that shocked the local legal community.
Five months after an Orange County Superior Court jury found him guilty of second-degree murder, Jeffrey Ferguson, 74, was ordered to serve 35 years to life in state prison for the killing of his wife, Sheryl Ferguson. The sentence was a few years shy of the maximum 40-years-to-life-sentence he had faced.
Jeffrey and Sheryl Ferguson were staples of the local legal community. He spent decades as a prosecutor and a judge, while she worked for both the Santa Barbara and Orange County probation departments before focusing on raising their son.
In the hours leading up to the shooting, the couple had been arguing over finances. During a meal at a restaurant with their adult son, Phillip, Ferguson, then a judge, made a “finger gun” motion at his wife, a gesture that angered her enough to walk away from their table for a few minutes.
The argument continued when the couple and their son returned home to watch the final episodes of the television show “Breaking Bad” in the family room.
Prosecutors say a drunken Ferguson intentionally shot his wife with a .40-caliber pistol he constantly carried in a concealed holster after she mocked him. Ferguson said the shooting was accidental, testifying that he was trying to place the firearm on a coffee table when his shoulder gave out and he fumbled the firearm, inadvertently firing the fatal shot.
During the show, the couple’s adult son, Philip, told police, he heard his mother tell his father, “Why don’t you use a real gun?” — an apparent reference to the “finger gun” gesture at dinner.
The son initially told police that he saw his father immediately take the gun out, aim it and fire. But, during his testimony at trial, the son changed his story slightly to say he only saw the gunshot, adding there was an up-to-30-second delay between his mother’s comment and the gun firing.
Moments after the shooting, Ferguson went outside the home to wait for police and paramedics, leaving his son to perform CPR on his dying mother.
As he waited, the judge texted the bailiff and clerk who worked in his Fullerton courtroom, telling them, “I just lost it. I shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I’m so sorry.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.