Orange County Judge Jeffrey Ferguson taken into custody, charged with violating bail conditions

An Orange County judge accused of shooting his wife was taken into custody Tuesday after his bail was revoked for allegedly violating the conditions of his release while in custody.

Judge Jeffrey Ferguson was charged with drinking alcohol, a violation of the conditions of his bail, as he awaits trial for the August 2023 shooting death of his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, in their Anaheim Hills home. He has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.

Ferguson was handcuffed during a hearing on Tuesday after a judge found he had lied to the court when he claimed he had not consumed any alcohol.

He claimed that the ankle bracelet caused him discomfort and that the alcohol from the hand sanitizer he used to soothe his shaved skin had triggered the monitoring system.

An ankle bracelet expert said the bracelet was intended solely to indicate alcohol consumption.

In a bail motion last year, Assistant District Attorney Christopher Alex said Ferguson shot his wife “through the chest in the living room of their Anaheim home.”

The prosecutor alleged that the judge used a “loaded .40 caliber pistol that he pulled from his ankle holster. He shot her at close range. He did this while he was drunk. His adult son witnessed the murder.”

The argument began earlier in the evening when the couple argued over dinner at a restaurant near their home, Alex said.

Regarding the hand gesture at dinner, Sheryl Ferguson allegedly said “words to the effect of, 'Why don't you point a real gun at me?'” shortly before her husband opened fire, Alex claimed.

Ferguson “pulled his pistol from his ankle holster and fired into (his wife’s) midsection,” Alex claimed.

Ferguson's son called 911, and the judge did so as well. When a dispatcher asked the judge if he shot his wife, he said he did not want to discuss that at that time, and when asked again, he said she needed emergency medical attention, Alex said.

Minutes later, Alex claimed, Ferguson sent a text message to his clerk and bailiff saying, “I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I'm not coming in tomorrow. I'm going to be in custody. I'm so sorry.”

The officer and the bailiff thought he was joking, Alex said.

When officers arrived, Ferguson was “slurring his words and smelling of alcohol,” and body-worn cameras captured him saying, “…well, I guess I'm done for a while…oh my God…my son…my son…I'm sorry…I (expletive) am on…Oh man, I can't believe I did that,” Alex claimed.

Seven hours after the shooting, investigators took a blood sample from Ferguson, which showed a blood alcohol level of .06.

His son told police that his father was “more hot-tempered” when he was drinking and arguing with his wife, Alex said.

His son “said that Sheryl Ferguson had told him several years ago that the defendant had attempted to commit suicide with a gun,” Alex said. The son also said Ferguson fired a gun another time when she was alone in the bathroom of the house.

The son was not present at the shooting and described it as an accidental shot at the police officers, Alex said.

The Fergusons have two sons, Kevin and Phillip, both adults.

Jeffrey Ferguson is a native of Oakland who earned a bachelor's degree in biological sciences and social ecology from UC Irvine in 1973 and his law degree from Western State College of Law in 1982. The following year, he began his legal career with the Orange County District Attorney's Office, where he later became lead prosecutor on the Major Narcotics Enforcement Team.

He served as president of the Northern Orange County Bar Association from 2012 to 2014. The Narcotics Officers Association of Orange County honored him as prosecutor of the year four times. He became a judge in 2015.

In 2017, he was reprimanded by the State Commission on Judicial Capacity for making comments on Facebook about a prosecutor campaigning for the legal profession and for maintaining a “friendship” with three criminal defense lawyers 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 nearly 20 years before becoming a full-time mother. Her brother described her as “very, very active in the community,” including the Boy Scouts.

City News Service contributed to this report.