California judge charged with murder for killing wife

An Orange County Superior Court judge was charged on Friday, Aug. 11, with murder eight days after he was arrested on suspicion of killing his wife at their Anaheim Hills home.

Judge Jeffrey Ferguson — formerly a longtime OC prosecutor and currently an elected judge — is facing a first-degree murder charge, along with two firearm-related sentencing enhancements for the Aug. 3 shooting of his wife, Sheryl Ferguson.

A Glock .40 was used in the killing, which “involved domestic violence,” according the criminal complaint. Earlier that evening, the judge is accused of “making a hand gesture indicative of pointing a gun” at his wife, according to the filing.

Ferguson’s attorneys Paul Meyer and John Barnett issued a joint statement saying that murder charges were unwarranted.

“This is a tragedy for the entire Ferguson family,” they said. “It was an accident and nothing more.”

The judge was arrested the night of the shooting after officers found his wife fatally shot inside the couple’s two-story house in the 8500 block of East Canyon Vista Drive. An adult son was home at the time of the shooting and made the 911 call, according to multiple sources.

Officers recovered 47 weapons from Ferguson’s home — including rifles, shotguns and handguns — and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition, according to prosecutors.

At least one rifle was initially missed by officers and was turned over by Ferguson’s attorneys, while the whereabouts of a remaining .22 rifle remained unknown, prosecutors said.

After spending a night in jail, Ferguson was released on $1 million bail. Prosecutors are seeking a Tuesday, Aug. 15, hearing to arraign the judge and to seek additional conditions on his bail.

If convicted, Ferguson faces up to 40 years to life in prison.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.