Mario Fernandez Saldana Found Guilty of Murdering Jared Bridegan

State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that a Duval County jury found Mario Fernandez Saldana guilty of First-Degree Murder and Solicitation to Commit a Capital Felony for the murder of Jared Bridegan. With the verdict, Fernandez Saldana faces a mandatory sentence of life in Florida State Prison. The Honorable London Kite will formally sentence Fernandez Saldana at a later date.

On Feb. 16, 2022, Bridegan took his children on a preplanned “date night” in Jacksonville Beach. Bridegan returned the twins he shared with his ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, back to her Jacksonville Beach home, and drove along Sanctuary Boulevard. A tire was placed in the middle of the dark road as a trap for Bridegan. He stopped his car to remove the tire and, as he did, a man emerged and fired four shots: two shots hit and killed Bridegan and the other two went into his car where his 2-year-old daughter was in the backseat. The shooter was identified as Henry Tenon — Bridegan and Tenon were strangers to each other. Among the evidence the investigation uncovered: Tenon owned the blue Ford F-150 used in the crime; Tenon’s DNA was on the tire in the road; Tenon was a former tenant of Fernandez Saldana and Gardner at a Westside property; Fernandez Saldana paid Tenon at least $10,000 after the murder; and Tenon and Fernandez Saldana had extensive communications. The divorce between Bridegan and Gardner was acrimonious, with custody and parenting disputes ongoing. Gardner, who has a family trust fund, was only able to become the trustee after all “legal entanglements” with Bridegan were finished. Fernandez Saldana solicited Tenon, who was evicted and had no money in his accounts, to kill Bridegan in order to solve his and his wife’s custody issues and for Gardner to become the trustee of her trust fund.

Gardner’s and Tenon’s trials are set for later dates.

The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Beach Police Department, ATF, FBI, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Christina Stifler, Alan Mizrahi, and Stephen Siegel.