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Mario Fernandez Saldana Sentenced to Life in Prison for 2022 Murder of Jared Bridegan
A Jacksonville judge sentenced Mario Fernandez Saldana to life in prison Thursday for the murder-for-hire killing of Jared Bridegan, hours after denying his request for a new trial. Saldana also faces separate child sex crime charges, with a pretrial hearing set for December.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. â Mario Fernandez Saldana was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for the 2022 murder of Jared Bridegan, a St. Johns County father of four who was gunned down in Jacksonville Beach in what authorities described as a murder-for-hire plot.
The sentence was handed down by Judge London Kite after she denied Fernandez Saldana's motion for a new trial earlier in the day. Sentencing proceedings began immediately, with Bridegan's sister Ashley delivering a victim's impact statement.
Fernandez Saldana, the estranged husband of Bridegan's ex-wife Shanna Gardner, was convicted on August 26 after a jury deliberated for four hours. He was found guilty of first-degree murder and solicitation to commit a capital felony. Two other chargesâchild abuse and conspiracy to commit murderâhad been dropped in July.
According to prosecutors, Fernandez Saldana hired Henry Tenon to kill Bridegan. Tenon, who rented a home from Fernandez Saldana, is accused of shooting Bridegan. Tenon initially agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder but withdrew his plea in February. He is now scheduled to stand trial in March 2027.
Gardner was arrested in Washington in August 2023 and faces charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit murder, and child abuse. She has pleaded not guilty. Gardner and Tenon are tentatively scheduled to be tried together in May.
The killing occurred on February 16, 2022, when Bridegan, a software engineer, was driving home after having dinner with his twins, Abby and Liam, and his then-2-year-old daughter Bexley. After dropping the twins off at Gardner's house, he encountered a tire placed in the road on Sanctuary Boulevard in Jacksonville Beach. When he got out to move it, he was shot multiple times. Bexley was strapped in a car seat in the back of the vehicle and was unharmed.
"The tire was purposely placed there to make him stop, which he did," Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith said when announcing the first arrest in January 2023. "Tragically, he began to exit his vehicle to move the tire and he was gunned down in cold blood."
In a separate case, Fernandez Saldana appeared in court Thursday on two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation. He was charged on August 27, one day after his murder conviction, and has pleaded not guilty. Judge Kite granted a waiver for a speedy trial on those charges and set the next pretrial hearing for December 2.
The new charges against Fernandez Saldana were among the reasons Gardner sought and received a continuance for her trial in Bridegan's murder.
Bridegan's family has described him as a devoted father. He shared twins Abby and Liam with Gardner and daughters Bexley and London with his wife, Kirsten Bridegan.