An Orange County judge convicted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife at the couples Anaheim Hills home faces sentencing Wednesday in Santa Ana.
Jeffrey Ferguson, 74, was convicted in April in the Aug. 3, 2023 shooting death of his wife Sheryl, 65, following an argument. Jurors also found true a sentence-enhancing gun allegation, opening Ferguson to a possible prison term of 40 years to life.
A mistrial was declared in the first trial when the jury split 11-1 in favor of a guilty verdict on a second-degree murder charge. Jurors could have convicted Ferguson of second-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter, if they did not acquit him.
Deliberations began Feb. 26 in the first Ferguson trial, but after more than a week of deliberations, jurors could not come to a unanimous decision.
Attorneys for the prosecution tried to convince jurors that Ferguson was upset following a dispute with his wife at a restaurant. When the two were back home, Ferguson took out his gun and killed his wife in a tragic chain of events that warrant a murder conviction, prosecutors said.
“There are no winners here,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said after the April conviction. “Justice was achieved, but I’m very sad for the Ferguson family.”
Defense attorneys argued the shooting was accidental. In an interview with NBCLA at his Anaheim Hills home after the mistrial, Ferguson said he was relieved and disappointed at the same time when the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
“In the count – the 11 to one. That was sort of a blow to my emotions, but I don’t have any other choice but to keep going forward,” Ferguson said.
On the day of the shooting, the Fergusons and their son Phillip went to El Cholo Mexican restaurant, but Sheryl Ferguson left after her husband made a hand gesture mimicking a gun during an argument, according to testimony. Later at their home, Phillip Ferguson said he heard his mother say something to the effect of, “Why don’t you point a real gun at me?”
Calling it the most reliable account of the shooting, prosecutors played video of the son later telling police, “I turned around and he pulls out a gun and aims at her and fires.”
In response to those who claim the killing was intentional, Ferguson insisted it was an accident. He said that he fumbled with the Glock pulled from an ankle holster and it accidentally discharged when he tried to place it on a cluttered coffee table.
“I’m not getting away with anything because I lost her, and she lost her life,” he told NBCLA.
Ferguson’s blood-alcohol level was .065 percent when it was measured seven hours after the shooting, prosecutors said. An expert testified it was likely about .17 percent, or nearly twice the legal limit for driving, at the time of the shooting.
At a news conference after the conviction, Spitzer said he plans to review some of Ferguson’s cases. Ferguson, who has been a judge in Orange County for nine years, testified that he sometimes had a few drinks during lunch and may have been intoxicated during hearings over which he was presiding.
Defense attorney Cameron Talley challenged the prosecution’s argument by saying it stems from a misunderstanding of how guns work. Talley noted how Senior Deputy District Attorney Seton Hunt referred to loading bullets in the gun during the trial when the weapon uses magazines. Talley also said the pathway of the bullet, as the pathologist in the case testified, disproves any legal theory that Ferguson’s arm was crooked at a 45-degree angle.
Talley noted one detective’s testimony about how far the casing from the gun’s projectile would go if it were fired the way the prosecution theorized. But Talley said it was found right next to the coffee table, which was consistent with his theory of an accidental shooting.
Talley also argued that home surveillance video also indicated there was no muzzle flash, which was also consistent with an accidental misfire. The bullet ripped through the victim’s abdomen “slightly to the left” and exited the upper right of her back, which would match the angle of where the defendant said the gun misfired, Talley argued.
Talley said there’s no evidence his client was angry, but he said he was attempting to make peace and end the conflict.
“We still believe in Jeff Ferguson,” Talley said. “We believe he is not guilty and there will be an appeal in this case.”