SANTA ANA, Calif. — Sentencing is set for June 13 for Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson who is facing 40 years to life in prison for his second-degree murder conviction for shooting his wife following an hourslong argument.
Jurors deliberated for about seven hours before convicting the 74-year- old Ferguson Tuesday afternoon of killing 65-year-old Sheryl Ferguson on Aug. 3, 2023, at their Anaheim Hills home. They also found true a sentence- enhancing gun allegation.
Jurors had began deliberating at about 2:45 p.m. Monday.
Ferguson was taken into custody after the verdict was read and ordered to remain jailed without bail.
A previous jury deadlocked 11-1 in favor of a second-degree murder conviction, prompting the retrial.
Defense attorney Cameron Talley asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Eleanor Hunter if the defendant could give his son, Phillip, the primary witness in the case, a hug goodbye, and she left it up to the bailiffs, who let the two embrace.
As Ferguson hugged his son, he told him, "Be strong."
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer told reporters he found the judge's comment "ironic."
"He took the life of Sheryl Ferguson, he took her will to live and crushed it," Spitzer said. "He took his own son's life and crushed it... Here was a man who said be strong and he took life out of everybody in his familiar sphere... It was so ironic, so Shakespearean."
Spitzer emphasized that his office "will be there" for Phillip Ferguson as a crime victim. He noted the defendant's son "was in a rock and a hard spot," torn by the loss of his mother and his father's incarceration.
"Phillip, you did nothing but be a good son," Spitzer said. "Phillip will be part of my prayers."
Spitzer recalled how he has known Ferguson for three decades.
"I've known their son since he was a little boy" on the campaign trial with his father, Spitzer said.
"He tried to run for judge for many years, but there was no opening," Spitzer said.
Spitzer praised Hunter for fast-tracking a retrial within a month.
"We don't see that in Orange County," Spitzer said, criticizing local judges for taking longer to clear the way for a retrial. "She sets an example for our Orange County bench."
Talley told Hunter he wasn't ready for a retrial, pointing out he lost his original co-counsel and had just received transcripts from the original trial, among other reasons. Defense attorney Frances Prizzia was co-counsel for Talley in the retrial.
The day started with some drama for the defendant when a bailiff told Hunter that he overheard Ferguson discussing the case with his son in earshot of some of the jurors. Hunter ripped Ferguson and was about to hold a hearing to decide whether to revoke his bail but then jurors reached their verdict.
Spitzer said the judge was right that Ferguson "doesn't listen, doesn't follow the law, doesn't think it applies to him."
Hunter criticized Ferguson multiple times in court for doing television news interviews following the mistrial.
"I agree with Judge Hunter 100%," Spitzer said. "He was absolutely trying to gain sympathy from the jury pool."
Talley defended his client, saying Ferguson just wanted the public to know he loved his wife.
"It's a natural reaction to want to tell the back story," Talley told reporters. "He basically said he loved his wife."
Talley said as a former longtime prosecutor he got to know Ferguson.
"We liked each other and this is so sad to see this now," Talley said.
Phillip Ferguson was "balling his eyes out" after the verdict.
"I told him I know how much his dad loves him," Talley said. "Those two have a rich, father-son relationship."
Phillip Ferguson struggled through his testimony in the retrial, as he did in the first trial. It opened up a chance for prosecutors to admit more of the video of police questioning of the son as evidence in the retrial.
Jeffrey Ferguson claimed the shooting was accidental, insisting the gun discharged when he fumbled it while trying to set the weapon on a coffee table. He said his shoulder, which is missing three of four tendons, gave out while he was handling the weapon and it discharged.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Seton Hunt called the judge's story "ludicrous," noting that the Glock handgun that Ferguson carried in an ankle holster required 5 pounds of pressure on the trigger to discharge, and was specifically designed not to fire when dropped.
Hunt also noted that Ferguson never mentioned his injured shoulder or an accidental discharge to police the night of the shooting.
The judge, who conceded having an alcohol problem, was drinking throughout the day and began arguing with his wife when he got home. Sheryl Ferguson became angry when she realized the judge's son from a previous marriage, Kevin, had not sent a thank you note as promised for money the couple gave him for childcare for his daughter.
Her anger was exacerbated by the knowledge that Ferguson was not Kevin's biological father — a fact that only publicly emerged during the retrial. The family learned of it in 2019.
The argument continued when the couple went out to dinner with their son Phillip. The argument escalated when the judge pointed at his wife with a gun-like gesture, prompting her to angrily walk out of the restaurant. She eventually returned, but the argument continued when the family returned home and continued their nightly ritual of watching "Breaking Bad."
Prosecutors said that at one point during the argument, Sheryl Ferguson said something to extent of "Why don't you point a real gun at me?" That prompted the judge to remove his Glock from his ankle holster and shoot her, prosecutors said.
The judge disputed that theory, saying he thought his wife said "get that gun away from me," and he was trying to comply by removing it from the holster and setting it on a coffee table, but he fumbled it, causing it to discharge.
Talley argued that forensic evidence backed the judge's version of events. Talley argued that the bullet wound from the single gunshot indicated the angle of the weapon was pointing upward, which would be consistent with Ferguson's account of the accidental shooting.
Talley also argued that the location the bullet cartridge landed also proves the point, since it would have been ejected further away instead of at the base of the coffee table if it had been fired directly at the victim, as the prosecution theorized.
"It landed where it landed if he's telling the truth," Talley said.
Talley noted that the judge posted a photo of his wife on his Facebook page before the shooting. And the two had made plans to buy a home in Texas to be closer to their son, who was attending his final semester at Southern Methodist University. He also advised his wife to buy some lottery tickets that morning.
Ferguson sent a note to his courtroom bailiff and clerk outside the house after the shooting, saying, "I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I won't be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I'm so sorry."
