A Southern California judge was convicted on Tuesday of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his wife in August 2023 after what prosecutors described as a “drunken argument over money.”

The judge, Jeffrey Ferguson of Orange County Superior Court, 74, faces 40 years to life in prison at his sentencing on June 13, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors said that on Aug. 3, 2023, Judge Ferguson shot his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, 65, at their home in Anaheim Hills, Calif., southeast of Los Angeles.

Prosecutors said that the judge pulled a pistol from an ankle holster and shot Ms. Ferguson once in the chest at close range as they watched television in the living room.

The judge then went outside, prosecutors said, and texted his court bailiff and clerk. “I just lost it,” he wrote. “I just shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I’m so sorry.”

The judge’s son, who was with them that night, called 911 to report that his mother had been shot after she told her husband, “Why don’t you point a real gun at me?” prosecutors said.