Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

5 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

5 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

24 hours ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

1 day ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

1 day ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

1 day ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

1 day ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

1 day ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

1 day ago
Orange County Judge Arrested on Suspicion of Killing Wife in the Couple's Home
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
August 4, 2023

Share

SANTA ANA — A Southern California judge was arrested on suspicion of killing his wife in the couple’s home, authorities said Friday.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson was arrested late Thursday 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 neighborhood of Anaheim Hills. The 72-year-old judge was arrested and taken to jail.

He was held on $1 million bail in Santa Ana and released Friday after posting bond, according to online jail records. He has not been formally charged.

McClintock said one other person was at the home at the time but declined to say who the person was or whether they were among the callers who notified police of the shooting.

Telephone 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 courthouse in the Orange County city of Fullerton.

He started his legal career in the Orange County district attorney’s office in 1983 and went on to work narcotics cases, for which he won various awards, according to the court.

During his time as a prosecutor, he was honored as an “attorney of the year” by the North Orange County Bar Association. He served as the organization’s 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.

In 2017, Ferguson 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.

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.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

DON'T MISS

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

DON'T MISS

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

DON'T MISS

US Military Says 200 Marines Being Sent to Support ICE in Florida

DON'T MISS

Boeing Secures $2.8 Billion US Satellite Contract

DON'T MISS

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

DON'T MISS

Over 100 Former Senior Officials Warn Against Planned Staff Cuts at US State Department

DON'T MISS

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Recover Some of the $40,000 in Fireworks Stolen From Bullard High Team

UP NEXT

Riverdale High School Coach Arrested for Allegedly Arranging to Meet Minor

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Sandra Neredia Jaquez

UP NEXT

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

UP NEXT

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 35,000 Acres, More Evacuations Ordered

UP NEXT

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

UP NEXT

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

UP NEXT

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

UP NEXT

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

4 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

4 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

5 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

5 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

5 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

5 hours ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

5 hours ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

5 hours ago

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

5 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

5 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign a massive package of tax and spending cuts into law at a ceremony at the White House on Friday, ...

3 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
3 hours ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

4 hours ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
4 hours ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
4 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
5 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Israel Builds a Fence Around the West Bank
5 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

A view of the site of Thursday's Israeli strike that damaged and destroyed residential buildings, at Shati (Beach) refugee camp, in Gaza City, July 4, 2025. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
5 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend