JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A judge will wait a few more weeks to decide on a ruling for two issues in the case of a couple accused of plotting to kill a St. Johns County father.
At the beginning of March, defense attorneys filed court documents seeking the dismissal of all charges against Shanna Gardner.
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She’s accused of working with her estranged husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, to hire a hitman to kill her ex-husband Jared Bridegan, who was shot and killed in Jacksonville Beach in 2022.
Gardner’s attorneys claim prosecutors gained access to electronic documents recovered from Gardner’s phones, computers, and iCloud that should have been protected under attorney-client privilege.
Action News Jax law and safety expert Dale Carson, an attorney and former law enforcement officer with more than three decades of experience, said none of those requests are likely to be granted.
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“Will they be penalized for their behavior? Perhaps, but I don’t see that as an ultimate eventuality. And this is just another step for the defense where you make an effort to identify problem areas in the government’s case, so that later, if necessary, you can appeal their behavior,” Carson said.
Both Gardner and Fernandez Saldana have pleaded not guilty to murdering Bridegan. The next hearing for Gardner and Fernandez Saldana is Monday, April 8.
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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.”
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 his car.
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The arrests
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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