SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) – A Southern California judge has been arrested on suspicion of killing his wife at the couple’s home, authorities said Friday.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson was arrested Thursday afternoon after police received reports of a shooting at the home and found the judge’s wife, Sheryl Ferguson, shot inside. said Anaheim Police Sgt. Jon McClintock.
She was pronounced dead at the scene in the upscale Anaheim Hills neighborhood. The 72-year-old judge was arrested and taken to prison.
He was held on $1 million bond in Santa Ana and was released Friday after posting bond, according to online jail records. He has not been formally charged.
McClintock said another person was in the home at the time, but declined to say who the person was or if they were among the callers who notified police of the shooting.
Phone and email messages seeking comment were left for Ferguson’s attorney, Paul S. Meyer.
Ferguson was elected as a judge in 2014 and took office in 2015. He handles criminal cases in a court in the Orange County city of Fullerton.
He began his legal career with the Orange County District Attorney’s office in 1983 and continued to work on narcotics cases, for which he won several awards, the court said.
During his time as a prosecutor, he was honored as “Lawyer of the Year” by the North Orange County Bar Association. He served as president of the organization from 2012 to 2014.
“This is a very tragic situation for all involved,” Lorrie A. Walton, a current board member of the association, said in an email.
In 2017, Ferguson was reprimanded by the Judicial Performance Commission for publishing a statement about Facebook about a judicial nominee “with a 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.
Ferguson said on his Facebook page that he grew up in a military family and traveled around Asia as a child. He attended college and law school in California. He and his wife got married in 1996.
He was previously married to another woman and they had a child. He and Sheryl Ferguson have another child together, said Juli Mitchell, his ex-wife’s sister.
On Friday, Orange County Superior Court declined to provide additional information about the allegations.
“Although no case has been brought before our court, when necessary we will take all necessary steps to ensure full compliance with our legal and ethical obligations,” said Orange County Superior Court Chief Justice, Maria Hernández, in a statement.
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