Jury convicts a California judge of second-degree murder in his wife’s shooting death

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jurors convicted a Southern California judge of second-degree murder on Tuesday for fatally shooting his wife while the couple argued and watched television at home.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, 74, was on trial for the 2023 death of his wife Sheryl, 65, in their Anaheim Hills home. Ferguson took the stand in his own defense, admitting to shooting his wife but saying it was an accident.

Jurors reached their decision Tuesday afternoon, a day after deliberations began. After the verdict was read in court, Ferguson was given a moment to hug his son before he was handcuffed and taken into custody. He was also found guilty of a felony gun enhancement and faces a maximum prison term of 40 years to life when he is sentenced June 13.

Ferguson's attorney Cameron Talley said the defense plans to appeal.

“I respect the jury's verdict,” Talley said. “At the same time, we all know that juries don't always get it right ... I still believe in Jeff.”

The verdict comes after a previous jury deadlocked in March and Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter declared a mistrial. Hunter has overseen the case to avoid a conflict of interest with the Superior Court in Orange County, where Ferguson presided over criminal cases until the shooting.

The case had roiled the legal community in the county, which is home to 3 million people between Los Angeles and San Diego. Many have known or worked with Ferguson for decades, including Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.

“There are no winners here," Spitzer said during a news conference after the verdict. “Justice was achieved, but I’m very sad for the Ferguson family.”

Prosecutors said Ferguson had been drinking before he made a gun-like hand gesture toward his wife of 27 years during an argument about family finances they had during dinner at a Mexican restaurant on Aug. 3, 2023. Prosecutors said the argument continued at home while the couple was watching “Breaking Bad” on TV with their adult son, and Sheryl Ferguson chided her husband to point a real gun at her. He did, then pulled the trigger, prosecutors said.

Ferguson testified that he was removing the gun from his ankle holster to place it on a table, and fumbled it, and it discharged.

Immediately after the shooting, Ferguson and his son both called 911, and Ferguson texted 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,” according to a copy of a text message shown to jurors. His son Phillip testified to tackling his father to wrestle the gun away after the shooting and performing CPR on his mother.

Ferguson spoke with police outside his home and again once he was in custody, and was seen on video sobbing and saying his son and everyone would hate him. In the video, he said he killed his wife and pleaded for a jury to convict him.

Authorities said they found 47 weapons, including the gun used in the shooting, and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition at the home, and said Ferguson had ample experience and training in firearms.

“This was not an accident. Ferguson was trained to never point a gun at anything he didn’t intend to destroy," Spitzer said in a statement about the verdict.

Ferguson was a long-time prosecutor who became a judge in 2015. He began his legal career in the district attorney’s office in 1983 and went on to work on narcotics cases, winning various awards.

Ferguson had been out on $2 million bail but was not presiding in court as the state constitution bars a judge facing a felony charge from hearing cases.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Eleanor Hunter presides over the retrial of Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, who was found guilty on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif., of second-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, in 2023. (Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register via AP, Pool)

Orange County Superior Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, left, who was found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife Sheryl Ferguson in 2023, embraces his son, Phillip Ferguson, before being led away in handcuffs on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif. (Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register via AP, Pool)

An Orange County Superior Court jury found Orange County Superior Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, left, guilty of second-degree murder in the 2023 shooting death of his wife Sheryl Ferguson, and after he embraced his son, Phillip Ferguson, before being led away in handcuffs Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif. (Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register via AP, Pool)

An Orange County Superior Court jury found Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, right, guilty of second-degree murder in the 2023 shooting death of his wife Sheryl Ferguson, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif. His attorney's Cameron Talley, is center, and Frances Prizzia, is left. (Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register via AP, Pool)

An Orange County Superior Court jury found Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson guilty of second-degree murder in the 2023 shooting death of his wife Sheryl Ferguson, is consoled by his attorney, Cameron Talley, after the verdict was read Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif. (Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register via AP, Pool)

FILE - Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson appears during a hearing at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Aug. 15, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, Pool, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks of credit-card companies are tumbling on Monday after President Donald Trump threatened moves that could eat into their profits. The rest of Wall Street, meanwhile, was showing only modest signals of concern after tensions ramped to a much higher degree between the White House and the Federal Reserve.

The S&P 500 edged down by 0.1% from its all-time high as U.S. stocks drifted through mixed morning trading, while prices for gold and other investments that tend to do well when investors are nervous rose. The value of the U.S. dollar also dipped against the euro and other currencies amid concerns that the Fed may have less independence in setting interest rates to keep inflation under control.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 179 points, or 0.4%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was nearly unchanged.

Some of the market's sharpest drops came from credit-card companies, as Synchrony Financial, Capital One Financial and American Express all fell between 4% and 7%. They sank after Trump said he wanted to put a 10% cap on credit-card interest rates for a year. Such a move could eat into profits for credit card companies.

But it was a separate move by Trump that was grabbing more attention on Wall Street. Over the weekend, the Federal Reserve's chair, Jerome Powell, said the U.S. Department of Justice subpoenaed the Fed and threatened a criminal indictment over his testimony about renovations underway at its headquarters.

With an unusual video statement released on Sunday, Powell said his testimony and the renovations are “pretexts” for the threat of criminal charges, which is really “a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.”

The Fed has been locked in a feud with the White House about interest rates. Trump has been loudly calling for lower interest rates, which would make borrowing cheaper for U.S. households and companies and could give the economy a kickstart.

The Fed did cut its main interest rate three times last year and has indicated more cuts may be arriving this year. But it’s been moving slowly enough that Trump has nicknamed Powell “Too Late.”

In a brief interview with NBC News Sunday, President Donald Trump insisted he didn’t know about the investigation into Powell. When asked if the investigation is intended to pressure Powell on rates, Trump said, “No. I wouldn’t even think of doing it that way.”

Powell’s term as chair ends in May, and Trump administration officials have signaled that he could name a potential replacement this month. Trump has also sought to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook.

The Fed has traditionally operated separately from the rest of Washington, making its decisions on interest rates without having to bend to political whims. Such independence, the thinking goes, gives it freedom to make unpopular moves that are necessary for the economy’s long-term health.

Keeping interest rates high, for example, could slow the economy and frustrate politicians looking to please voters. But it could also be the medicine needed to get high inflation under control.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury ticked up to 4.19% from 4.18% late Friday. A less independent Fed and higher inflation in the long term could also erode the value of the U.S. dollar, and it slipped 0.3% against the euro and 0.4% against the Swiss franc.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia. Stocks jumped 1.4% in Hong Kong and 1.1% in Shanghai for two of the world’s bigger gains following reports that Chinese leaders were preparing more help for the economy.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

James Lamb works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Specialist Anthony Matesic works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Daniel Kryger works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Dealers watch computer monitors near the screens showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer walks near the screens showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Dealers talk near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer walks near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)