WEST RICHLAND, Wash. — Police body-worn camera video first obtained by Fox News Digital shows the moment Shanna Gardner was arrested in Washington state.
Gardner, who also goes by Gardner-Fernandez, was arrested Thursday, Aug. 17 in the 2022 Jacksonville Beach murder of her ex-husband Jared Bridegan.
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She is facing charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit murder, and child abuse, State Attorney Melissa Nelson announced the day Gardner was arrested.
The full video, which is about six minutes and 45 seconds, shows the moment Gardner was brought out of her West Richland, Washington home in handcuffs.
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After changing into a pair of jeans, officers walk Gardner to a police car. She can be heard saying, “I love you” to her kids before getting in the car.
Officers also take from Gardner a bag of medication that one of her kids retrieved for her.
Gardner will be extradited to Duval County for prosecution. Nelson said her office will file a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Gardner.
The crime
Bridegan, a St. Johns County father of four, was gunned down Feb. 16, 2022, in Jacksonville Beach. He had just taken his twins he shared with Gardner, and his then-2-year-old Bexley, his daughter with wife Kirsten Bridegan, to dinner.
The software engineer had just dropped off the twins at Gardner’s house when he encountered a tire on Sanctuary Boulevard, a one-way road. He was headed home to his second wife, Kirsten Bridegan, with whom he shared children Bexley and London.
Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith said during the announcement of the first arrest in January, that “the tire was purposely placed there to make him stop which he did.”
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“Tragically he began to exit his vehicle to move the tire and he was gunned down in cold blood,” Smith said.
Bridegan was shot several times while Bexley was still strapped into a car seat in the back seat of his car.
The other arrests
Mario Fernandez Saldana was arrested in March on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, child abuse, and solicitation to commit a capital felony. Fernandez Saldana is the estranged husband of Gardner-Fernandez.
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The arrest of Henry Tenon, 61, in connection to Bridegan’s murder was announced in January. He was arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, accessory after the fact to a capital felony, child abuse, and second-degree murder
Tenon, who rented a home from Fernandez Saldana, agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder. That means Tenon faces 15 years to life in prison, but not the death penalty.
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