A Feb. 18 trial date was set Friday for an Orange County Superior Court judge who is charged with fatally shooting his wife last year.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter noted that it hasn't yet been decided whether Jeffrey Malcolm Ferguson's murder trial will be held in Los Angeles County or Orange County. The judge said she would make some inquiries in case she decides the trial needs to be moved to Orange County.
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Ferguson will have a new team of attorneys for his trial, with defense attorney Cameron J. Talley assuring the judge that he and his colleague, Kaveh Newmen, will be prepared to move forward with the trial.
The now 74-year-old man -- who is due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Jan. 31 -- is charged with murder in connection with the Aug. 3, 2023, shooting of his 65-year-old wife, Sheryl, at their Anaheim Hills home.
He was released from a Los Angeles County jail Oct. 25 on $2 million bond after spending about a month behind bars for violating the terms of his earlier release.
Hunter had doubled his $1 million bail Sept. 24 after prosecutors argued that he had consumed alcohol that triggered his ankle monitor -- in violation of the terms of his release -- and he was taken into custody Sept. 24 in the downtown Los Angeles courtroom.
The judge said the defendant had been warned not to consume any alcohol and had agreed to that provision in connection with his release on $1 million bail, noting that someone "died at the hands of Mr. Ferguson" and that "alcohol was involved."
Hunter noted that Ferguson had signed a declaration under the penalty of perjury that he had nothing to drink, with the judge concluding that he was "not truthful to the court" about his alcohol consumption.
"I have not consumed alcohol for over a year, and I did not consume any alcohol on Aug. 28 and Aug. 29, 2024," Ferguson wrote in court papers.
The judge warned Ferguson at the hearing in September that she was not going to accept a "ridiculous story" about his ankle-monitoring system being triggered by the use of cortizone anti-itch cream and hand sanitizer gel as the defense had argued.
Prosecutors alleged the defendant was intoxicated when he shot his wife.
Anaheim Police Department officers arrested Ferguson after they were called to his home in the 8500 block of East Canyon Vista Drive just after 8 p.m. Aug. 3, 2023, on reports of a shooting. Officers found his wife suffering from at least one gunshot wound inside the home, said Anaheim Police Sgt. Jonathan McClintock.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
In a bail motion last year, Deputy District Attorney Christopher Alex wrote that Ferguson shot his wife "through the chest in the living room of their home in Anaheim."
The prosecutor alleged the judge used a "loaded 40-caliber pistol that he pulled from his ankle holster. He shot her at close range. He did so while intoxicated. His adult son witnessed the homicide."
The dispute began earlier in the evening while the couple argued during a dinner at a restaurant near their home, Alex said.
Ferguson "pointed his finger at his wife in a manner mimicking a firearm," Alex said, adding that the conflict continued at home "periodically" for about an hour.
Referring to the hand gesture at dinner, Sheryl Ferguson allegedly said moments before her husband opened fire "words to the effect of: `Why don't you point a real gun at me?"' Alex alleged.
Ferguson "retrieved his pistol from his ankle holster and shot (his wife) center mass," Alex alleged.
Ferguson's son called 911 and the judge did so as well. When a dispatcher asked the judge if he shot his wife, he said he did not want to discuss that at the time and when asked again, he said she needed paramedics, Alex said.
Minutes later, Alex alleged, Ferguson sent a text message to his court clerk and bailiff, saying, "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 clerk and bailiff assumed he was joking, Alex said.
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