ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA: An Orange County Superior Court judge was apprehended after his wife was found fatally shot in a California neighborhood on Thursday night, August 3. This incident in California County came to light following the reports of at least one gunshot from inside their home.
As per the Anaheim Police Department, officers arrived at the property just after 8 pm and found Jeffrey Ferguson's wife Sheryl Ferguson in an unresponsive state. Neighbors reportedly told that they witnessed the judge being arrested by authorities. Investigators were searching the property to develop a timeline of what happened.
Who is Jeffrey Ferguson?
Judge Ferguson has served in the Orange County Superior Court since 2015. Superior Court judge is an elected position in Orange County with him winning reelection in March 2020. He has served in the role since 2015.
He previously worked for over three decades with the Orange County district attorney's office where he worked on the Major Narcotics Enforcement Team. In his successful career, Ferguson was named prosecutor of the year four times by the Orange County Narcotics Officers Association.
Anaheim police sergeant speaks on the incident
Sgt Jon McClintock said that one other person in the home at the time of the shooting was not injured. Sources close to the authorities who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the case publicly said the person was the Fergusons’ son and he attempted to perform CPR on his mother.
According to ABC affiliate KABC, the Anaheim police sergeant told, "Upon officer's arrival, they located one deceased victim and ultimately detained one suspect that suspect was ultimately arrested and our homicide detectives are on scene investigating the incident now." The police department has confirmed the identities of the victim and her alleged attacker after keeping a hold of the information for a brief period.
What did the police department say?
Homicide detectives have arrested 72-year-old Anaheim resident Jeffrey Ferguson for the murder of his wife," the Anaheim Police Department wrote in a press release. "Upon officers' arrival, they located 65-year-old Sheryl Ferguson inside the residence suffering from at least one gunshot wound. Sheryl Ferguson was pronounced deceased at the scene."
"Officers contacted Jeffrey Ferguson, an Orange County Superior Court Judge, at the location and arrested him for murder without incident," it continued. "Jeffrey Ferguson was booked into the Anaheim Police Department's Detention Facility in lieu of $1 million bail. Detectives are not disclosing any additional details at this time because the investigation is ongoing."
"No way he could have done this
A neighbor, John Poulter said the news of the killing and Ferguson's arrest was 'tragic'. “It’s a shock,” he said. The neighbor added that the couple often walked their dog around the neighborhood. “So many people in the neighborhood flooded the street [afterward] and just kept repeating, ‘There’s no way he could have done this,’ ” Poulter said.
