A southern California judge has been arrested in connection with the killing of his wife, authorities said Friday.
Jeffrey Ferguson was arrested late Thursday after police received reports of a shooting in an Anaheim Hills home and found the judge’s wife, Sheryl Ferguson, suffering from at least one gunshot wound, Anaheim police said.
She was pronounced dead at the scene in the upscale neighborhood. The 72-year-old judge was arrested and booked into an Orange county jail in lieu of $1m bail. He’s expected to appear in court on Monday. Ferguson has not been formally charged.
No additional details were released.
Online property records show Ferguson and Sheryl, 65, as occupants of the home in the 8500 block of East Canyon Vista Drive. The LA Times reported a son of Ferguson and his wife was at the home during the shooting.
A message was sent to Anaheim police asking whether Ferguson has an attorney.
Ferguson has served as a judge in Orange county superior court since 2015, according to the LA Times. For over three decades, Ferguson worked with the Orange county district attorney’s office, as part of a team prosecuting drug crimes, according to the North Orange county bar association. Ferguson served as president of the association from 2012 to 2014.
During his time as a prosecutor, he was honored as an “attorney of the year” by the association. He served as its president from 2012 to 2014.
“This is a very tragic situation for all involved,” Lorrie A Walton, a current member of the association’s board, said in an email.
Ferguson took a seat on the bench in 2015. Two years later, he was admonished by the Commission on Judicial Performance for posting a statement on Facebook about a judicial candidate “with knowing or reckless disregard for the truth of the statement” and for being Facebook friends with attorneys appearing before him in court, according to a copy of the agency’s findings. A message was left for his attorney on that issue, Paul S Meyer.
Ferguson said on his Facebook page that he grew up in a military family and traveled throughout Asia as a child. He went on to attend college and law school in California. He and his wife were married in 1996.
He was previously married to another woman and they had a son. He and Sheryl Ferguson have another son together, said Juli Mitchell, the sister of his ex-wife.
On Friday, the Orange county superior court declined to provide additional information about the allegations.
“Although no case has been filed with our court, when appropriate we will take all necessary steps to ensure full compliance with our legal and ethical obligations,” Orange county superior court presiding judge Maria Hernandez said in a statement.
