An Orange County Superior Court judge accused of fatally shooting his wife had his $1 million bail revoked Tuesday for violating the terms of his release, and he was taken into custody in court.
Prosecutors said Judge Jeffrey Malcolm Ferguson, 73, violated the terms of his release by drinking alcohol. Ferguson’s attorney denied the allegation, blaming it on the judge’s use of cortizone anti-itch cream and hand sanitzer gel containing alcohol that triggered the ankle-monitoring system.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter on Tuesday revoked Ferguson’s $1 million bail, and reset his bail amount at $2 million. Ferguson was handcuffed by sheriff’s deputies in court and led away to a courtroom lockup.
Ferguson is due back in court Nov. 1, when a trial date is expected to be set. He is accused in the Aug. 3, 2023, shooting of his 65-year-old wife, Sheryl, at their Anaheim Hills home.
Ferguson’s attorney, Ed Welbourn, had contended in court papers that Ferguson the anti-itch cream and gel “on his skin under the ankle monitor to help ease the blistering, redness and swelling, which is what caused the ankle monitor to spike.”
Ferguson said in court papers that he suffers from “intermittent symptoms associated with a chronic kidney failure condition that I have had for the past several years, that includes periods of lower leg edema and swelling from time to time.”
He noticed “mild swelling” in his legs the morning of Aug. 26, but it went away overnight, but by the next day the swelling returned and it made the ankle bracelet “snug,” Ferguson said.
The swelling ultimately progressed enough that the bracelet “was now deeply pressed into my left lower leg,” which led to “severe discomfort,” Ferguson said.
When he tried to adjust the bracelet for relief, he noticed it was “reddened” and his skin was “chafed and discolored,” he said.
He used the hand sanitizer to ward off infection, he said.
“I have not consumed alcohol for over a year, and I did not consume any alcohol on Aug. 28 and Aug. 29, 2024,” he said in court papers.
Ferguson is prohibited from drinking alcohol as he awaits trial. Prosecutors alleged he was intoxicated when he shot his wife.