Bail for California judge accused of murdering his wife doubled to $2 million – East Bay Times

An Orange County Superior Court judge charged with murdering his wife had his bail doubled to $2 million and ordered him taken into custody immediately on Tuesday, September 24, after a Los Angeles County judge found he lied to cover up his drinking during the investigation.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter said she did not believe Judge Jeffrey Ferguson's claim that he had not consumed alcohol since his arrest a year ago. The Los Angeles judge added that Ferguson's claim that the use of cortisone cream and hand sanitizer led to a false positive alcohol reading on his ankle bracelet was “ridiculous.”

The judge increased Ferguson's bail from $1 million to $2 million. Immediately after the verdict, two officers handcuffed Ferguson in the courtroom and began the process of his being booked into the Los Angeles County jail system. Judge Ferguson's attorney, Ed Welbourn, said after the hearing that he was not immediately sure whether Ferguson would be able to pay the higher bail amount.

Ferguson is accused of shooting his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, in the chest with a .40-caliber Glock during an argument in front of the couple's son at their Anaheim Hills home. He allegedly pulled the weapon from an ankle holster. Ferguson's attorney has previously described the shooting as a “terribly unfortunate accidental discharge.”

Judge Ferguson's criminal case was assigned to a judge in Los Angeles to avoid a potential conflict of interest with his colleagues in the Orange County court system.

Ferguson's abstinence from alcohol was a key condition of his release on bail following his arrest and indictment. An ankle monitor he was required to wear recorded suspected alcohol consumption on August 28 and 29.

Ferguson said in a recent deposition that he has a medical condition that can cause swelling in his legs. That swelling was particularly severe the week before the recent Labor Day holiday, Ferguson testified. To reduce redness and chafing on his skin under his ankle bracelet, Ferguson claimed he used the cream and disinfectant.

However, an analyst at the company that monitors the ankle bracelet testified that the readings on Ferguson's device were due to alcohol consumption and not the use of creams or disinfectants.

Under cross-examination by a prosecutor, Ferguson admitted in an earlier statement that on one of the days the ankle monitor allegedly detected alcohol in his system, he had lunch with two sitting Orange County Superior Court judges, whom he identified as Andre Manssourian and Jonathan Fish.

Welbourn presented the court with a hair sample analysis which he said proved that Ferguson had not consumed alcohol. However, the judge noted that the defence report itself acknowledged that it was not a forensic analysis and that the report should not be used in a criminal case.

The defense argued that Ferguson was neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community, and urged Judge Hunter to simply add to his existing bail conditions, such as restricting his driving privileges or requiring him to attend self-help meetings.

“Due to the conflicting evidence we have, we don't know what happened,” Welbourn said.