Former Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, 74, received a life sentence on Wednesday for the second-degree murder of his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, in Anaheim Hills. The sentence of 35 years to life follows his conviction by an Orange County jury in April.
The incident occurred on August 3, 2023, when Ferguson, during a heated argument, pulled a pistol from his ankle holster and fatally shot his wife. Prosecutors described the event as a “drunken argument over money.” At the sentencing, Ferguson expressed remorse, stating, “I wish God had taken me instead,” and claimed the shooting was accidental.
Ferguson had served as a judge since 2015 and spent over 30 years as a prosecutor in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutor Seton Hunt emphasized Ferguson’s awareness of gun safety, saying, “He was in a position, relative to almost any other person, to know the dangers of operating a gun in the manner that he did.”
The couple’s son, Phillip Ferguson, who was present during the incident, testified that he believed his mother’s death was accidental. He had called 9-1-1 and attempted CPR on his mother following the shooting.
The police investigation revealed that Ferguson owned 48 weapons and over 26,000 rounds of ammunition.
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