JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The State Attorney’s Office said it should not be disqualified from prosecuting those accused in Jared Bridegan’s murder.
Action News Jax told you earlier this month that the defense for two defendants accused in Bridegan’s murder -- Mario Fernandez Saldana, as well as his estranged wife Shanna Gardner -- filed a motion asking for the Fourth Judicial Circuit to be disqualified.
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The motion claimed that the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office seized a phone and looked at things that included privileged attorney-client communication.
The State Attorney’s Office said that is an “incorrect assertion” in a response filed Wednesday.
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Fernandez Saldana State Response by ActionNewsJax on Scribd
Gardner, who is Bridegan’s ex-wife, and Fernandez Saldana, are scheduled to appear in court on Friday morning. Action News Jax will be there and will stream the proceedings on actionnewsjax.com and on the Action News Jax NOW app.
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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, that “the tire was purposely placed there to make him stop, which he did.”
JUNE 2022 INTERVIEW: ‘Wish it weren’t like this’: Ex-wife of Jared Bridegan, father killed in Jacksonville Beach, speaks
“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 Bridegan’s car.
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The arrests
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.
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.
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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