An Orange County Superior Courtroom choose was sentenced Wednesday to 35 years to life in jail for fatally taking pictures his spouse throughout a drunken argument, in response to prosecutors.
Jeffrey Ferguson, 74, was convicted in April of fatally taking pictures his 65-year-old spouse, Sheryl, throughout a struggle over cash at their Anaheim Hills dwelling on Aug. 3, 2023, prosecutors mentioned in a written assertion.
Throughout his testimony, Ferguson admitted that he was an alcoholic and that he had been ingesting that day. The couple had been married for 27 years.
Jurors convicted Ferguson on one felony rely of homicide and one felony enhancement of non-public use of a firearm, in addition to one felony enhancement of discharge of a firearm inflicting nice bodily damage and loss of life.
Ferguson was first placed on trial in March, however a mistrial was declared when the jury deadlocked on a cost of second-degree homicide. He was retried and convicted the next month.
Prosecutors say Ferguson and his spouse had been of their household room watching “Breaking Unhealthy” after they started to quarrel.
“As a substitute of rendering support to his spouse, Sheryl, after taking pictures her as they sat of their front room watching tv, Choose Jeffrey Ferguson, then 72, went outdoors and texted his court docket bailiff and clerk: ‘I simply misplaced it. I simply shot my spouse. I received’t be in tomorrow. I might be in custody. I’m so sorry,’” the district legal professional’s workplace mentioned in a written assertion launched following his conviction.
The couple’s son tackled his father to wrestle the gun away, and carried out CPR on his mom whereas being directed by emergency dispatchers, prosecutors mentioned.
In the hours after the shooting, an inebriated Ferguson wished aloud in a police interview room for the loss of life penalty, demanded to be punched within the face and predicted that he would burn in hell, in response to video prosecutors confirmed throughout trial. He agonized over the couple’s son, who had simply witnessed his mom’s violent loss of life, and vowed to not cheat the legislation with “subterfuge.”
“Convict my ass,” Ferguson muttered to an imaginary jury in a police interview room.
Going through an actual jury in a Santa Ana courtroom 18 months later, threatened with jail and the tip of his pension as a choose, a sober Ferguson solid his spouse’s loss of life as an accident and denied felony blame.
“We beloved one another rather a lot,” Ferguson testified. “We didn’t argue on a regular basis.”
Ferguson and his spouse had been having a well-known struggle that day. He informed jurors that she was upset as a result of that they had despatched cash to his grown son from a earlier marriage, however had not obtained a thanks card.
The argument continued over dinner at a restaurant, the place he pointed his finger at her in imitation of a gun, making her so upset she left the desk.
Ferguson informed jurors his gesture had not been one among menace however of capitulation, a means of claiming, “You win.”
The quarrel continued again at dwelling. Their son, Phillip, informed police he heard his mom say, “Why don’t you level an actual gun at me?” earlier than his father prolonged his arm and fired.
However Ferguson informed jurors that isn’t what he heard his spouse say. As a substitute, he mentioned he heard: “Why don’t you set the true gun away from me?”
Ferguson mentioned he responded by unsnapping his ankle holster, eradicating his Glock, and making an attempt to place it on the espresso desk, as a result of “I simply needed to please her.” He mentioned he was lacking tendons in his proper arm.
“My arm failed,” he mentioned. “I received a taking pictures ache. … I used to be making an attempt to clutch it so it wouldn’t drop, and it fired. … She had a really stunned look on her face.”
His son tackled him and wrested the gun away.
“I used to be sort of in shell shock,” Ferguson mentioned.
However jurors finally didn’t purchase that testimony.
“The second he pulled the set off and killed his spouse, Choose Jeffrey Ferguson knew he was similar to the violent criminals he has despatched to jail and left his son to desperately attempt to pump the life into his dying mom’s physique whereas he went outdoors to textual content his pals,” Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer mentioned in April. “This was not an accident. Ferguson was educated to by no means level a gun at something he didn’t intend to destroy.”
