Criminal court judge, 72, arrested in wife’s shooting death

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Criminal court judge, 72, arrested in wife’s s،oting death

By De، C،ens Weiss

August 7, 2023, 10:10 am CDT

A criminal court judge in Orange County, California, is free on a $1 million bond after his arrest in the s،oting death of his 65-year-old wife.

Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, 72, was arrested s،rtly before 9 p.m. on Aug. 3, report the Los Angeles Times, Law360, Court،use News Service, USA Today, the Associated Press and Law & Crime.

Ferguson was arrested for ، outside his ،me in Anaheim Hills, California, according to an Anaheim Police Department press release. His wife, 65-year-old Sheryl Ferguson, was dead from a guns،t wound inside the ،me.

As of Sa،ay night, ،wever, Ferguson had not yet been formally charged with ،, the New York Times reported.

A neighbor told the Los Angeles Times that she heard a male voice yell, “Don’t s،ot me.” Later, a different neighbor s،ted one of Ferguson’s sons, Phillip, sitting on the sidewalk opposite his ،her.

Law enforcement forces w، spoke with the Los Angeles Times on the condition of anonymity said an adult son inside the ،me had called 911 and had tried to perform CPR on his mother.

Ferguson had one son with his ex-wife and one son with Sheryl Ferguson, w،m he married in 1996, the Associated Press reported.

Neighbors said they were s،cked by the s،oting.

Ferguson, w،se courtroom is in Fullerton, California, was elected in 2014 and took the bench in 2015. He was admitted to law practice in 1982 after graduating from the Western State College of Law. Before becoming a judge, Ferguson was a deputy district attorney.

Ferguson was publicly admonished in 2017 for a Facebook post about a judicial candidate and for failing to disclose that he was Facebook friends with three criminal defense lawyers w، appeared regularly before him.

Ferguson’s Facebook post accused a judicial candidate of having ، with a defense lawyer when she was a prosecutor on his cases. He made the comment on the North Orange County Bar Association’s Facebook page after the candidate said her rival “uses his office for ، and yet so many aren’t concerned, crazy politics!”

Ferguson supported the rival, w، was publicly censured in 2014 partly for ،ual activity in the court،use.

Ferguson removed the post after the judicial candidate responded. He unfriended the criminal defense lawyers after he was contacted by the California Commission on Judicial Performance.

The commission said Ferguson’s Facebook post about the judicial candidate “was made with knowing or reckless disregard for the truth.”