A California superior court judge charged with shooting his wife to death texted his court clerk and bailiff minutes after the crime to tell them he “won’t be in tomorrow” because “I’ll be in custody.”

Jeffrey Ferguson, an Orange County Superior Court judge since 2015, allegedly shot his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, in the chest after they returned home from a restaurant on August 3 arguing, KNBC reported.

According to an affidavit, Sheryl Ferguson told her husband to “point a real gun at me” in the course of the argument, so he pulled a pistol from his ankle holster and shot her.

She was pronounced dead on the scene, CrimeOnline reported.

“I just lost it,” Ferguson texted his court employees, according to KNBC. “I just shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I’m so sorry.”

The couple’s adult son called 911, telling dispatchers his father had been drinking too much and shot his mom.

When officers arrived, Ferguson reportedly said, “Oh man, I can’t believe I did this.”

His attorneys, meanwhile, said, “it was an accident and nothing more.”

Ferguson was released on a $1 million bail the next day, but a bail hearing is scheduled for next week, with prosecutors seeking non-monetary bail conditions. Prosecutors also said they were concerned about a .22 caliber rifle registered in his name they’d been unable to locate after removing 47 other guns and 26,000 rounds of ammunition from the home. All of the weapons are registered to Ferguson.

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[Featured image: Jeffrey Ferguson/police handout]