JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The man who previously admitted to killing a St. Johns County father in a murder-for-hire plot now says he didn’t do it.
Henry Tenon pleaded guilty to charges in the 2022 shooting death of Jared Bridegan that happened in Jacksonville Beach.
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Now, Tenon is saying he is not guilty and his case will go to trial.
Tenon spoke in court Tuesday, making it explicitly clear we wanted a trial and the State Attorney’s Office had no objections to it.
“What do you want to do? Do you want to maintain your plea or do you want a trial?” Judge London Kite asked.
“I want a trial,” Tenon said.
“You got it,” Kite said.
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It’s an unexpected twist in the case of Bridegan’s murder.
Bridegan’s ex-wife Shanna Gardner and her estranged husband Mario Fernandez Saldana are accused of plotting his murder.
Tenon had previously admitted the couple hired him to pull the trigger.
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.
But as of Tuesday, that deal is off.
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Kite approved Tenon’s motion to withdraw that plea and go to trial.
“The state has no objection to the court granting that motion for trial,” Assistant State Attorney Alan Mizrahi said.
In the motion filed last Friday, it explicitly states that Tenon will not testify against his co-defendants while on trial.
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On Tuesday, Tenon also waived his rights to a speedy trial. Kite wanted to make sure Tenon understood this.
“Did Ms. Schlax (Tenon’s attorney) do anything to you to get you to waive a speedy trial other than explain what it meant?” Kite asked.
“No,” Tenon replied.
“Are you in agreement with it?” Kite asked.
“Yes I am,” Tenon said.
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Tenon is scheduled to appear for a pre-trial hearing on March 23. His case is separate from Gardner and Fernandez Saldana, who are scheduled to go to trial in August.
Action News Jax’s Madison Foglio reached out to a criminal defense attorney who is not affiliated in this case and asked him if it’s possible that Tenon could now face the death penalty since he no longer has the plea deal with the state. That attorney said the state could bring back the death penalty as an option if they want to.
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