NOTE: Updated Aug. 16 to include Ferguson’s plea.
Jeffrey Ferguson, criminal judge of Orange County Superior Court, has been formally charged with the murder of his wife, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Aug. 11.
He faces a felony charge for murder with two firearm enhancements. He faces a maximum sentence of 40 years to life, according to the office.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge Aug. 15.
The District Attorney’s office said that police recovered 47 weapons and 26,000 rounds of ammunition from Ferguson’s home, but that a .22 rifle legally registered to the judge remains missing.
Ferguson’s adult son called 911 to report his mother being shot on Aug. 3, the office said.
The California Attorney General’s Office declared that the Orange County District Attorney’s Office did not have a conflict of interest regarding the prosecution of Ferguson Aug. 8.
Ferguson was a career prosecutor in the Orange District Attorney’s Office, having worked there from 1983 to 2015. He has been a criminal judge in Orange Superior Court since 2015.
Arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 1, but the District Attorney’s Office has requested Orange Superior Court move arraignment up to Aug. 15.
Ferguson is currently out on a $1 million bail.
Case No. 23NF1975
