Back
in
2023,
California
criminal
court
judge
Jeffrey
Ferguson
was
arrested
for
the
murder
of
his
wife,
Sheryl
Ferguson.
The
couple
had
been
arguing
early
in
the
evening,
both
at
their
home
and
a
restaurant,
and
the
fighting
continued
when
they
returned
home.
During
the
argument
at
the
restaurant,
prosecutors
say
the
judge
used
his
fingers
to
imitate
a
gun.
When
the
fight
continued
at
home,
Sheryl
Ferguson
reportedly
said,
“Why
don’t
you
point
a
real
gun
at
me?”
According
to
court
filings,
Judge
Ferguson
then
got
his
Glock
.40
pistol
from
his
ankle
holster
and
shot
her.
Shortly
after
the
shooting,
the
judge
reportedly
texted
court
staffers,
“I
just
lost
it.
I
just
shot
my
wife.
I
won’t
be
in
tomorrow.
I
will
be
in
custody.
I’m
so
sorry.”
The
trial
of
Judge
Ferguson
began
in
a
California
courtroom
earlier
this
week.
Opening
statements
began
with
Orange
County
Deputy
District
Attorney
Seton
Hunt showing
a
video
of
Judge
Ferguson
after
his
arrest,
sitting
alone
in
a
police
interview
room.
The
footage
shows
Ferguson
saying,
“I
killed
her.
Ladies
and
gentlemen
of
the
jury,
convict
my
ass.
I
did
it.”
As
reported
by
Law360,
it
continues:
In
the
video,
the
judge
at
various
times
expresses
regret
and
anger
toward
himself
while
also
saying
aloud
to
nobody
in
particular
that
he
wasn’t
“going
to
pretend
or
do
subterfuge,”
according
to
Hunt.
Jeffrey
Ferguson
is
later
caught
on
the
video
saying,
“I
did
it.
Convict
me.
Send
me
on
my
way.”
And
that
wasn’t
the
only
video
shown
to
the
jury:
Jurors
also
saw
footage
from
a
body
camera
worn
by
Officer
Joshua
Juntilla,
who
apprehended
Jeffrey
Ferguson
and
stayed
with
him
outside
the
family’s
home.
Juntilla
recalled
that
the
judge
was
distraught,
uttering
several
expletives,
and
asking
multiple
times
whether
his
wife
was
alive.“What
the
fuck
did
I
do?”,
“Shit
me,
shit
me,
shit
me,
fuck
me,”
and
“Holy
fuck,
I
can’t
believe
this,”
Judge
Ferguson
is
heard
saying
on
video
at
different
times,
while
also
apologizing
repeatedly
to
his
son,
who
was
not
within
earshot.“Phillip,
I’m
so
sorry,”
Judge
Ferguson
said,
sobbing.
“My
son
will
hate
me
for
the
rest
of
my
life.”The
judge
subsequently
revealed
to
Juntilla
he
was
a
superior
court
judge,
discussed
his
30-year
career
as
a
deputy
district
attorney,
prosecuting
different
gangs,
while
commenting:
“Here
I
am,
now
like
them,
after
all
of
this.”“I
never
in
my
wildest
dreams
thought
I’d
be
sitting
in
handcuffs
in
front
of
my
house,”
Jeffrey
Ferguson
is
heard
saying.
The
trial
is
ongoing.
Judge
Ferguson
maintains
the
shooting
was
accidental.