Jared Bridegan murder: Current judge will handle concerns about attorney-client communications

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A new judge will not be called in to help resolve concerns in the 2022 alleged murder-for-hire of a St. Johns County father.

Shanna Gardner and Mario Fernandez Saldana are accused of plotting the murder of Gardner’s ex-husband, Jared Bridegan.

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Gardner’s attorneys claimed prosecutors gained access to electronic documents from her devices that should have been protected under attorney-client privilege.

The judge currently assigned to the case, Duval County Circuit Court Judge London Kite, will address the attorney-client communication issues, according to an order filed Monday.

Gardner and Fernandez Saldana are set to appear in court again on Monday, April 8.

Read the full order below:

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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 2023, 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 2023 on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, child abuse, and solicitation to commit a capital felony.

The arrest of Henry Tenon, 61, in connection to Bridegan’s murder was announced in January 2023. He was arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, accessory after the fact to a capital felony, child abuse, and second-degree murder

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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.

Gardner was arrested in August in Washington and is facing charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit murder, and child abuse.

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