JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Prosecutors have dropped two charges against the man accused of hiring a gunman to shoot and kill Jared Bridegan in 2022.
The decision was announced Monday during one of Mario Fernandez Saldana’s final court appearances ahead of his trial.
The prosecution said it would not pursue a child abuse charge and a conspiracy charge at trial, but did not explain the decision.
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Fernandez Saldana still faces a 1st-degree murder charge and solicitation of a capital felony.
Criminal defense attorney Chris Carson, who is not affiliated with the case, explained dropping charges ahead of trial could indicate a lack of evidence.
But in this case, Carson argued, it’s more likely a strategic move.
“I definitely have seen situations where prosecutors make a strategic calculus. Particularly, with what went on here and the fact that a conspiracy charge was dropped, but there’s still kind of exists a solicitation charge, which is not a world apart from conspiracy legally speaking,” said Carson. ”And so, there may have been some concern on the part of the prosecutor that it would just kind of come across as redundant.”
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It was also revealed during the hearing that Fernandez Saldana’s legal team discussed a possible deal with the prosecution to try and avoid a full trial.
“I would not consider it, it was not formal and in writing. It was more of a discussion and we certainly do not want to discuss it in open court,” Fernandez Saldana’s attorney Jesse Dreicer told the judge.
While the defense declined to detail the specifics of that offer, the state noted it had rejected the deal.
Carson explained that without knowing the details of the offer, it’s hard to draw solid conclusions about why the state may have rejected it.
“It would really be hard to gauge what the state’s feeling on it was, because again, if the offer was laughably low, the fact that they rejected it may not really mean anything in terms of the merits of the case,” said Carson.
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Jury selection for Fernandez Saldana’s trial is set to begin on August 10th, with the trial scheduled to start on August 17th.
Alleged coconspirator Shanna Gardner’s trial is set to begin on August 31st.
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