Authorities on Thursday announced another arrest in the February 2022 murder of St. Johns County father of four Jared Bridegan.
The State Attorney’s Office and Jacksonville Beach Police Department announced that Mario Fernandez Saldana, the husband of Bridegan’s ex-wife Shanna Gardner Fernandez, has been arrested in Bridegan’s murder.
Bridegan was gunned down Feb. 16, 2022, in Jacksonville Beach after taking his twins and Bexley to dinner. The software engineer had just dropped off the twins at his ex-wife Shanna Gardner-Fernandez’s house when he encountered a tire in the one-way road.
Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith said in January the “tire was purposely placed there to make him stop.”
In January, authorities announced the first arrest in connection to Bridegan’s murder.
Henry Tenon, 61, was arrested and charged with the following crimes:
- Conspiracy to commit murder – Nelson said investigators know Tenon didn’t act alone in the crime
- Accessory after the fact to a capital felony
- Child abuse – Because Bridegan’s then-2-year-old daughter Bexley was directly in harm’s way during the shooting, Nelson said
- Second-degree murder
State Attorney Melissa Nelson said Tenon is now pleading guilty in Bridegan’s murder and in exchanged has agreed to testify those he worked with in Bridegan’s murder, including Fernandez Saldana.