JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The man accused of shooting and killing St. Johns County father Jared Bridegan in February 2022 is now asking that statements made during previous plea agreement negotiations not be mentioned at his future trial.
Henry Tenon previously admitted that he shot and killed Bridegan, and in March 2023, entered into a plea deal where, according to the motion:
- He would plead guilty to second-degree murder
- The State would drop additional pending charges
- Tenon would testify truthfully against a co-defendant
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The motion filed with the court Thursday by Tenon’s attorney Julie Schlax states that Tenon “was questioned under oath by prosecutors and made incriminating statements to prosecutors.”
READ THE MOTION BELOW
According to the motion, “Florida law unequivocally provides that statements made during plea negotiations are inadmissible in any criminal proceeding.”
Schlax said in the motion that Tenon was not advised that statements made during the plea agreements “could be used against him if he might later withdraw his plea.”
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Bridegan’s ex-wife Shanna Gardner and her estranged husband Mario Fernandez Saldana are accused of plotting Bridegan’s murder. Tenon had previously admitted the couple hired him to pull the trigger.
Action News Jax has previously told you that as part of his original plea deal, Tenon would face a minimum of 15 years to life in prison and avoid the death penalty.
In February, Tenon withdrew his guilty plea. At that time, Tenon told Judge London Kite, “I want a trial.”
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After Tenon withdrew his guilty plea, he was indicted by a Duval County grand jury on the following charges:
- Murder in the first degree
- Child abuse
- Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
Charges he was facing that were dropped/abandoned include conspiracy to commit murder and accessory after the fact.
Tenon’s next pretrial hearing on Monday at 9 a.m.
‘Gunned down in cold blood’
Bridegan was gunned down Feb. 16, 2022, in Jacksonville Beach. He had just taken his twins he shared with ex-wife Gardner, and his then-2-year-old daughter he had with wife Kirsten Bridegan, to dinner.
The software engineer had just dropped off the twins at Gardner’s house when he encountered a tire on Sanctuary Boulevard, a one-way road. He was headed home to his second wife, Kirsten Bridegan, and their youngest child.
JUNE 2022 INTERVIEW: ‘Wish it weren’t like this’: Ex-wife of Jared Bridegan, father killed in Jacksonville Beach, speaks
Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith said during the announcement of the first arrest in January 2023, that “the tire was purposely placed there to make him stop, which he did.”
“Tragically, he began to exit his vehicle to move the tire and he was gunned down in cold blood,” Smith said.
Bridegan was shot several times while his daughter was still strapped into a car seat in the back seat of Bridegan’s car.
The suspects
Fernandez Saldana, Gardner’s estranged husband, was arrested in March 2023 on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, child abuse, and solicitation to commit a capital felony.
The arrest of Tenon in connection with Bridegan’s murder was announced in January 2023. He was arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, accessory after the fact to a capital felony, child abuse, and second-degree murder
RELATED: ‘False testimony’ statement from alleged gunman in Jared Bridegan murder surprised his attorney
Gardner was arrested in August 2023 in Washington and is facing charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit murder, and child abuse.
Bridegan’s widow Kirsten filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Tenon, Gardner, and Fernandez Saldana in February 2025. A motion to stay that case until the criminal charges are resolved was granted in July.
Gardner and Fernandez Saldana are currently set to go to trial on August 10.
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