Prosecutor: O.C. judge’s claim of accidentally shooting wife is ‘ludicrous’

An Orange County Superior Court judge’s claim that he accidentally shot his wife to death in their Anaheim Hills home due to a bad shoulder is “ludicrous,” a prosecutor argued to jurors Monday, but the defendant’s attorney said the forensics in the case back the judge’s version of what occurred.

Jeffrey Ferguson, 74, is charged with killing his 65-year-old wife, Sheryl Ferguson, on Aug. 3, 2023, at the end of an evening-long argument. His first trial ended with a mistrial when jurors deadlocked 11-1 in favor of a second-degree murder conviction.

Jurors began deliberations about 2:45 p.m. Monday.

During closing arguments of Ferguson’s retrial on Monday, Senior Deputy District Attorney Seton Hunt said he detected a tone of “resignation” when Ferguson testified in the case.

“There were moments when he realizes what he is saying is ridiculous,” Hunt said.

The prosecutor played multiple videos of the judge volunteering declarations about his predicament following the shooting. In one instance, an officer asks Ferguson if he had any medical issues. Hunt told jurors, “If you had this miraculous shoulder injury that allows you to shoot your wife in the kill zone, now would be a good time to mention it.”

“He compares himself to gang members,” Hunt said, referring to Ferguson’s ``boasting’’ about his prosecutorial career taking down Mexican Mafia and motorcycle gangs.

“He compares himself to gang members, not someone who had a crazy accident,” Hunt said.

Hunt reminded jurors the Glock Ferguson fired requires a 5-pound pull on the trigger, and it’s designed to not fire when dropped, something a “gun expert” like the defendant should know.

Ferguson testified he accidentally fired the gun as his injured shoulder, which is missing three of four tendons, pained him and gave away as he tried to set the gun on a cluttered coffee table. He said as he fumbled the gun and tried to regain control of it, the weapon fired.

Hunt said Ferguson knew about his injured shoulder since at least 2018 and would use both hands to fire the weapon at training sessions, Hunt argued. But the judge was not using both hands to place the gun safely on the
coffee table, he said.

“It’s a ludicrous story,” he said.

Hunt also argued the judge’s testimony in the retrial was inconsistent with his comments during the first trial. He accused Ferguson of lying about when he felt the effects of the alcohol he had been drinking that day.

Hunt was also skeptical of Ferguson’s claim that he thought he heard his wife say “get that gun away from me,” instead of what her son heard, which was, “why don’t you point a real gun at me.”

The couple began arguing that day because when Sheryl got home she realized the defendant’s son from a prior marriage, Kevin, had not set a thank you note as promised for money the couple gave him for childcare for his
daughter. The conflict reached a critical point when the judge made a gesture with his hand like a gun while the couple and their son, Phillip, were getting dinner at a local restaurant the night of the shooting.

Ferguson claimed he was making a gesture as if to say “you got me, touché.”

The argument continued when the family returned home, culminating in the fatal shooting.

Hunt told jurors Ferguson appeared to change his testimony from the first trial when he said he was attempting to slide the gun off his hand onto the coffee table, versus his retrial testimony, when he said he was gripping it safely.

“Then we get this weird, hybrid description,” Hunt said. “It’s hard to be consistent when you’re telling a lie.”

Hunt argued, “This is a domestic dispute. He was angry. ... The defendant is unquestionably guilty of murder.”

Defense attorney Cameron Talley criticized the prosecution for arguing for either express malice or implied malice, which are second-degree murder theory elements.

“The government lawyer said this is not a complicated case,” Talley said. “Then he spends 40 minutes talking about was it express malice or implied malice, a non-intentional murder. ... So if it’s that simple why can’t the government make up its mind which is it. Instead, you get this smorgasbord approach.”

Talley argued that the bullet wound from the single gunshot indicates the angle of the weapon was pointing upward, which would be consistent with Ferguson’s account of the accidental shooting. He 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 theorizes.

“It landed where it landed if he’s telling the truth,” Talley said, pointing to Ferguson and noting the ejection port of the gun was facing down.

Talley also argued that Phillip Ferguson’s testimony has been wildly inconsistent from his questioning at the scene and his initial trial testimony.

“I’m not criticizing Phillip,” Talley said of the only witness to the shooting. “Phillip is in a really tough spot. I’m suggesting he’s all over the board. He’s inconsistent.”

Phillip Ferguson told police at one point he saw his father point the gun at his mother, but then later said it appeared to be an accident, Talley argued.

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.

Talley argued that most of the supposedly incriminating statements Ferguson made to police amounted to reflections on how badly he felt about what he did, and they were not a confession to a crime.

Talley argued that if his client were really angry enough to want to kill his wife he would have emptied the gun in her instead of just one shot.

The defendant and his wife had zero domestic violence disputes during their marriage, the attorney said.

“Jeff Ferguson has kept his commitments,” Talley said. “He kept supporting Kevin even when it came out he wasn’t the (biological) father.”

And when Ferguson pledged to police the night of the shooting that he would not engage in “subterfuge” or that he wouldn’t drag his son through this ordeal, he kept to that promise as well since he never subpoeaned his son to testify.

“He could have come up with some other story. He didn’t,” Talley said. “He said what happened and the forensics prove it.”

Talley also argued against involuntary manslaughter, another charge jurors may consider. He said it “sounds a little more appealing at first blush,” but he said the evidence does not show he acted in an “unlawful manner” performing a lawful act.

“We all agree you shouldn’t drink alcohol when handling a gun, but what’s the unlawful act here,” Talley said.

He argued the “impingement” in the judge’s shoulder “caused” the shooting.

Talley said there was no “high risk of death” in his unholstering the gun and attempting to place it on a table.

In his rebuttal argument, Hunt said, “The defendant’s argument is based on a story that he did not share the day of the incident and you shouldn’t believe any of it.”

Hunt compared the shooting to a drunk driver involved in a fatal crash.

Hunt also said it was “absurd” to argue anyone can tell from what angle the gun was fired by the wound. One police expert testified that the expelled cartridge from the gun could have bounced anywhere, Hunt argued.

“Just because he’s a judge he shouldn’t get away with it,” Hunt said, adding that the law applies equally to everyone.