A Florida jury on Wednesday found Mario Fernandez-Saldana guilty of orchestrating the 2022 ambush that killed Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan.
According to FOX News Digital, a Duval County jury found Fernandez-Saldana, 38, guilty of first-degree murder and solicitation to commit a capital felony.
As Criminal Enterprise reported, Fernandez-Saldana plotted the murder with Bridegan’s former wife, Shanna Gardner, 39.
Court documents identified Fernandez-Saldana is Gardner’s current husband, although the records list them as separated.
On February 16, 2022, Henry Tenon, 69, a man identified as the defendant’s handyman and tenant, allegedly gunned down Bridegan, 33, after Bridegan dropped off his twins at Gardner’s Jacksonville Beach home.
Jared Bridegan shared custody of the twins with his ex, Gardner, and had two younger children with his widow, Kirsten.
The Bridegan couple’s 2-year-old daughter, Bexley, was with Jared as he made his way home from Gardner’s Jacksonville Beach home.
That same night, Tennon allegedly killed Bridegan at around 8 p.m., after Bridegan pulled over to remove a tire from an isolated road at Sanctuary Boulevard in Jacksonville Beach.
The bullets narrowly missed Bexley, who was in the back seat at the time of the shooting.
Prosecutor Christina Stiffler told the court that the tire had been a “trap” to lure Bridegan from his vehicle.
Investigators later determined that the killing had been fueled by a bitter court battle involving child custody and financial issues between Bridegan and Gardner.
“It was pretty terrible,” Kirsten told the court earlier this month, referring to Jared’s co-parenting situation with Gardner. “There was absolutely no trust, everything was in writing, texts.”
The prosecution argued that although Fernandez-Saldana didn’t pull the trigger, he aided in the murder by offering Tenon $10,000 to kill Bridegan.
Following the shooting, investigators questioned Kirsten Bridegan, who said the only two people she knew who had issues with her husband were Gardner and Fernandez-Saldana.
Following her “gut instinct,” she urged law enforcement to investigate the pair.
Tenon is currently facing charges that include:
- First-degree murder
- Conspiracy to commit first-degree murder
- Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
- Accessory after the fact
His trial is scheduled to begin in April 2027.
Gardner is currently facing charges that include:
- First-degree murder
- Conspiracy to commit first-degree murder
- Child Abuse
- Solicitation to commit a capital felony
Her trial is scheduled to begin on September 7.
Meanwhile, Fernandez-Saldana is scheduled to return to court October 5 for sentencing.
[Featured image: Bridegan couple/Instagram]
