JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County Circuit Judge London Kite declined to make a decision Thursday on whether Mario Fernandez Saldana should be granted bond.
Fernandez Saldana is the estranged husband of Shana Gardner, the ex-wife of slain Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan.
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Gardner and Fernandez Saldana are accused of hiring Henry Tenon to shoot and kill Bridegan in 2022.
Fernandez Saldana’s Defense Attorney Jesse Dreicer said Thursday there is not “proof evident presumption great” to say that Fernandez was involved in the murder of Bridegan.
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The defense went on to suggest that Tenon, the accused murderer for hire, made inaccurate statements. They appeared to suggest that Tenon’s confession to shooting Bridegan was coerced. Tenon previously denied involvement in the crime, according to video of a prior police interrogation.
Dreicer played police interviews of Gardner’s children stating that they saw Fernandez at home the morning after the shooting.
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The ruling on Fernandez Saldana’s motion for bond is set for Thursday, March 12 at 9 a.m.
Gardner was in court Thursday as well for a status hearing. She is due back in court on Tuesday, March 31 at 9 a.m.
‘Gunned down in cold blood’
Bridegan was killed on 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.
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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
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.
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In February, Tenon was allowed to withdraw his guilty plea and will now go to trial.
In a plea deal he originally agreed to, Tenon would face a minimum of 15 years to life in prison and avoid the death penalty in exchange for pleading guilty and testifying against Gardner and Fernandez Saldana.
That deal is off. After withdrawing his plea, a Duval County grand jury charged Tenon with murder in the first degree, child abuse, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Gardner and Fernandez Saldana are currently set to go to trial on August 10.
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