Florida man accused of paying his tenant to ambush and kill his wife’s ex-husband – he is about to face the next chapter of this case

A Florida man accused of hiring a gunman to kill his wife’s ex-husband is going to trial, with jury selection starting on August 10.

Mario Fernandez Saldana is the first of three defendants, facing charges for orchestrating the murder of Jared Bridegan, a 33-year-old father who worked for Microsoft (via People). Investigators say Fernandez recruited Henry Tenon, a man who had rented a house from him in Jacksonville’s Biltmore neighborhood for years, to carry out the shooting.

Bridegan was the ex-husband of Fernandez’s now-estranged wife, Shanna Gardner. Detectives say Gardner had grown tired of splitting custody of the twins she shared with him, which might have served as the motive for orchestrating Bridegan’s death. (per WJXT)

The attack happened on February 16, 2022. Bridegan was taking Gardner’s twins back to her Jacksonville Beach home. On the way back, driving to St. Augustine with his 2-year-old daughter, Bexley, in the back seat, Bridegan noticed a tire sat in the road. He stopped his car, stepped out to check the tire, and was shot. At least one bullet narrowly missed the child, who stayed strapped in her seat.

The alleged plot, according to court records, began in November 2021. Tenon’s original file put his own involvement at Jan. 4, 2022, roughly six weeks before Bridegan died.

Interestingly enough, detectives figured it out thanks to a separate driving charge felony. When the police picked him up, investigators used the opportunity to ask him about the killing and about a Ford F-150 they were searching for. The only connection they found between Tenon and Bridegan was Fernandez.

Prosecutors dropped two charges, but Fernandez still faces a murder count

On July 27, prosecutors told the court they would no longer pursue the conspiracy and child abuse counts — the latter because Bexley was in the car. He now faces first-degree murder and solicitation to commit a capital felony. Fernandez has pleaded not guilty.

At the same hearing, Judge London Kite disclosed that the two sides had touched on a resolution short of trial. She said prosecutors described one offer, but after a defense attorney pushed back on it, Kite ruled that jurors will hear nothing about it.

Fernandez is not facing execution. Prosecutors withdrew their death penalty notice in November 2025, and Bridegan’s widow, Kirsten, said in an Instagram post that she and his family “unanimously support and stand behind” the move.

Gardner’s jury selection begins August 31, with her trial running September 8 to 25. Tenon, who pleaded guilty in 2023 and admitted firing the shots before a judge let him take the plea back, goes to trial in March.