JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The second day of testimony in the first trial related to the killing of St. Johns County father of four, Jared Bridegan, begins Tuesday at 9 a.m.
Opening statements and witness testimonies began Monday morning.
The first suspect on trial is Mario Fernandez Saldana, who is the estranged husband of Bridegan’s ex-wife, Shanna Gardner.
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Last week, lawyers finished the work of screening the jury pool for Fernandez Saldana’s trial.
The final panel includes twelve jurors and four alternates.
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Fernandez Saldana is accused of hiring the hitman who killed Bridegan.
You’ll also be able to watch the trial by streaming it on the Action News Jax website (click on the link below), mobile and connected TV apps, and on our YouTube channel.
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4:14 p.m.: Johns said of Tenon that once investigators realized that he was a suspect, they did start surveilling him and knew that he did not have a valid driver’s license, so officers decided at that point to go ahead and arrest him for felony driving while license suspended and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon.
4:13 p.m.: Johns said investigators felt like there was a very good chance that Tenon he was involved in Bridegan’s murder.
4:12 p.m.: Investigators pulled Tenon’s phone records and found that he had communicated with Fernandez Saldana, Johns said.
4:11 p.m.: Johns said investigators realized that Tenon’s father owned a blue Ford F-150 Lariat. Realized this truck is the one that matched surveillance photos.
4:10 p.m.: In July 2022, Johns said investigators were running out of leads, didn’t know where to go. He said they started looking at ancillary people and Burrell found the tire at the Potomac address.
4:08 p.m.: Johns said an interview with Bridegan’s twins and the Child Protection Team was scheduled after he spoke with Fernandez Saldana.
4:04 p.m.: The video ends. Stifler asks Johns how many questions he asked during the interview. He said, “maybe three or four.”
4:02 p.m.: Fernandez Saldana said during Bridegan and Gardner’s divorce, Gardner’s parents paid for Bridegan’s school. Fernandez Saldana said Bridegan tried to sue them because his lifestyle was about to change.
3:59 p.m.: Fernandez Saldana said in the aftermath of Bridegan’s death, Bridegan’s parents and Kirsten were acting like “assholes.”
3:57 p.m.: Fernandez Saldana said they were going to have their own celebration of life with Gardner’s family. He said she had the kids write letters.
3:55 p.m.: Fernandez Saldana said after Gardner delivered the news about Bridegan’s death, the kids asked, “What’s going to happen with our little sisters?” Fernandez Saldana said, “as long as Kirsten is available, we will take you over there.”
3:53 p.m.: Fernandez Saldana said of Kirsten Bridegan’s behavior in the aftermath of Bridegan’s murder, “She’s being a total bitch”
3:50 p.m.: Fernandez Saldana said people from Bridegan’s church did not like him. For the memorial service for Bridegan, Fernandez Saldana said he was told by Kirsten Bridegan, “You are not welcome here, you were vile to him.”
3:49 p.m.: Johns asks Fernandez Saldana what he thinks happened to Bridegan: “It’s a big speculation. Shanna’s parents came to spend time with Shanna and the kids. When you guys showed up, I feel like everything you guys asked were basic questions. ... I don’t like him, I don’t care for that dude. I haven’t heard anything directly from you guys. ... I don’t understand why he got out of the car.”
3:44 p.m.: Fernandez Saldana said the last thing he and Gardner were struggling with Bridegan about before his death was that he wanted to stop his twins from going to therapy.
3:42 p.m.: Fernandez Saldana said Bridegan’s daughter wanted to have Gardner’s parents and Gardner at her baptism and Bridegan told her that if your grandparents and mom are there, “it’s going to ruin the family trip.”
3:39 p.m.: Fernandez Saldana said the interactions between him and Gardner and Bridegan and his wife surrounding the kids were contentious.
3:34 p.m.: Fernandez Saldana said Bridegan didn’t want his son to be on more medicine because of how that reflected on him. His son has a heart condition.
3:33 p.m.: Fernandez Saldana said he asked Bridegan’s son if he wanted to take a medicine to help him focus at school and he said yes. Fernandez Saldana said Bridegan and his wife had “the dumbest concerns.”
3:31 p.m.: Fernandez Saldana is asked if Bridegan was confrontational. Fernandez Saldana said no, but “he was a keyboard warrior more than anything.”
3:30 p.m.: Fernandez Saldana said he takes Gabapentin for headaches and pain. He said he thought at first, when he heard the police ring the doorbell at 1 a.m., it was one of Gardner’s clients coming to pick up an order.
3:26 p.m.: Fernandez Saldana said the night of the murder, Bridegan picked the kids up at 6:30 p.m. and returned them home at 7:45 p.m. He said he heard the kids come in, did not see them. Fernandez Saldana said he was “zoned out” at that moment, as he said he takes Gabapentin.
3:25 p.m.: Fernandez Saldana said he would tell the twins to suggest to their dad where they want to go for “date night.”
3:22 p.m.: Bridegan’s oldest daughter wanted to dye her hair purple. Fernandez Saldana said she was legitimately scared to approach Bridegan and get that rejection. Fernandez Saldana said that Bridegan told his daughter that she would be rejected by God if she dyed her hair. Fernandez Saldana said that the family spoke to a bishop, and the bishop said it would be OK for her to dye her hair. Fernandez Saldana said Bridegan went to the church and got into a “pissing match,” with the bishop.
3:17 p.m.: Jury is watching 2022 JBPD interview with Fernandez Saldana. He talks about the twins being in therapy since their parents divorced.
3:03 p.m.: Judge Kite asks the jury to give the court five minutes to get the video set up.
3:01 p.m.: Judge Kite instructs the jury that before they watch the interview of Fernandez Saldana, which is 50 minutes long, that they do not consider the statements of Johns as evidence.
2:59 p.m.: Stifler asks Johns that if he said something during the interview of Fernandez Saldana, just because he’s saying something in this interview doesn’t mean he believes it? Johns said that is correct.
2:58 p.m.: Stifler asks Johns if there were there specific statements Fernandez Saldana said during the interview that stood out to him. Johns said that he and Ms. Gardner were trying to get a social investigation done to get majority custody of the kids.
2:56 p.m.: Johns said he made phone contact with Fernandez Saldana on Feb. 28, 2022 and interviewed him the following day, March 1, 2022.
2:48 p.m.: Jury returns to the room. Stifler continues questioning of Johns.
2:47 p.m.: Stifler said there was not a discovery violation as the information about the ATF’s canvass for guns was provided to defense in 2023. Defense attorney Jesse Dreicer withdraws the objection.
2:44 p.m.: Jury was led out of the room. Judge Kite discussed an objection the defense had to questions about 10 mm guns.
2:36 p.m.: The calls from the public did not lead them to the home on Potomac, Johns said. Sent shell casings found at the scene to the ATF lab to see if there was DNA present on them. Only Bridegan’s DNA was found on them.
2:35 p.m.: Johns said eventually, officers were running out of areas to search and believed this truck was absolutely involved in this crime based on the tire and the surveillance matching up. Johns said JBPD decided as an agency to go ahead and release the images of the truck to the media. The agency received dozens and dozens of calls.
2:32 p.m.: Johns’ testimony resumes after recess. Said the two tires -- the one in the road the night Bridegan was killed and the one taken from the home on Potomac -- had matching DOT numbers.
2:12 p.m.: Testimony resumes. Stifler asks if Johns began to look at Gardner and Fernandez Saldana as persons of interest and he said yes. Judge Kite said the court is in recess until 2:30 p.m.
2:09 p.m.: Johns: “Everybody’s a suspect until you’re not, and that’s how we look at these things.” Johns said the only ongoing conflict we could find in his life ... Defense objects and Judge London Kite calls for a sidebar with attorneys.
2:06 p.m.: Johns said investigators took Bridegan’s devices to be forensically examined. Examined financial records of Bridegan and his wife.
2:06 p.m.: Johns said the evidence that led them to believe Bridegan’s killing was not random is that it happened in a not a very well-traveled area, very dark at night, rim is placed there to get him to stop and he is shot and killed.
2:04 p.m.: Evidence did not suggest that Bridegan’s murder was a random act of violence, Johns said. He had no gambling debts, drug issues: “This was an intentional act that had been committed.”
1:59 p.m.: Johns said they made a decision not to record Kirsten Bridegan the night of Bridegan’s murder as they were notifying a widow her husband died, not questioning a suspect.
1:56 p.m.: Johns said they were not able to determine a suspect or vehicle description the night of Bridegan’s murder.
1:54 p.m.: Johns said they identified Bridegan the night he was murdered by running the plate on vehicle and pulled his driver’s license photo.
1:48 p.m.: Johns said he became the lead detective on Bridegan’s murder because he was the on call lead detective at the time it happened.
1:47 p.m.: Johns said he joined the General Investigations Unit with JBPD in December 2021.
1:43 p.m.: Johns said he works part time with JBPD and also works as a financial planner and owns a financial planning company with his spouse.
1:42 p.m.: Assistant State Attorney Christina Stifler is now doing the questioning. She asks Johns about his educational background and his interest in the financial industry prior to becoming an officer.
1:40 p.m.: Burrell is excused, but subject to being recalled. State calls Jacksonville Beach Police Department Detective Chris Johns as its next witness.
1:38 p.m.: Hill asks if Burrell took a ride in a helicopter to look for the truck. He affirms he did, but they did not find it during that search.
1:36 p.m.: Hill points out that Fernandez Saldana’s name is not on the truck’s registration.
1:34 p.m.: Hill asks about the tire Burrell found at the home on Potomac in July 2022.
1:32 p.m.: Burrell said there were no observations that Fernandez Saldana was nervous, sweating, or fumbling with a cell phone.
1:31 p.m.: Burrell refers to his incident report about the timing of when he showed up to Gardner and Fernandez Saldana’s address hours after Bridegan’s murder.
1:29 p.m.: Cross examination by the defense of Burrell begins by Attorney James Hill.
1:28 p.m.: Mizrahi shows Burrell a State of Georgia motor vehicle registration for the F-150 to Henry Tenon’s father.
1:26 p.m.: Burrell said he was able to determine that Tenon, or his father, had a registration to a Ford Lariat F-150.
1:21 p.m.: Burrell said he took the tire because it looked familiar to the one that was left in the road the night Bridegan was murdered.
1:19 p.m.: Tenon backed up his Crown Victoria into the driveway of Mr. Ordway’s house. Takes out metal dog bowl and starts filling it up. As he’s filling up the bowl, Burrell said he saw a tire that looked familiar. Ordway gave Burrell permission to take the tire.
1:17 p.m.: Burrell said he reviewed Ring camera footage provided by Gardner and said he did not see anything of note during the time when Bridegan dropped off his kids.
1:16 p.m.: Burrell positively identifies the house that Gardner and Fernandez Saldana were living in at the time of Bridegan’s murder.
1:14 p.m.: Burrell said at 12:39 p.m. the night of Bridegan’s murder, he and another officer informed the family that he was killed.
1:11 p.m.: Court resumes. The state calls Jacksonville Beach Police Detective Brett Burrell. Assistant State Attorney Alan Mizrahi is conducting the questioning.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE TO SEE TUESDAY’S TESTIMONY BEFORE LUNCH BREAK
11:50: Prosecutors give follow-up questions to Wallace. Then, Wallace is dismissed, and court goes into recess.
11:45 a.m.: Defense asks whether investigators have any evidence or footage that point to where the blue truck went after pulling into and then out of Pablo Hamlet. Wallace says no. Defense then asserts there is no way to know whether the truck was there when Tenon was supposedly arriving, and Wallace affirms.
11:36 a.m.: Defense asserts that there is no video of Tenon arriving on foot at Pablo Hamlet, where the security cameras continuously film, and Wallace agrees.
11:32 a.m.: Defense points out that there is 36 minutes of footage missing, asserting there is no way to know what occurred within that 36 minutes. Wallace agrees.
11:27 a.m.: Defense asks Wallace a series of questions that lead to the assertion that there must be a driver and a shooter. Defense then asks whether any footage showed Mario or any other person getting into the truck -- Wallace says no.
11:22 a.m.: Defense asserts that at no time can anyone be seen walking to or from the truck. Wallace agrees. Defense then states that there is therefore no evidence that can connect the shooter to the truck.
11:14 a.m.: Defense claims the time is incorrectly labeled on the footage showing the truck backing into a dead-end cul-de-sac on Pablo Hamlet.
11:13 a.m.: Court is back in session and defense is called to cross-examine Corporal Brian Wallace.
10:48 a.m.: Court is in recess.
10:44 a.m.: Footage shows the suspect on foot, walking down the dead-end street the truck was parked at, on Pablo Hamlet.
10:42 a.m.: Approximately 8 minutes after the homicide, the truck is seen backing into a dead-end cul-de-sac on Pablo Hamlet.
10:39 a.m.: Video is shown of the suspect walking away from the scene on foot, following a few minutes behind the blue F-150 truck, which was seen speeding off.
10:37 a.m.: Video is played that shows the moment the homicide occurred. Through a treeline, the stopped SUV is seen along with a figure running from the scene after shots are heard ringing out.
10:34 a.m.: Footage shows Bridegan’s SUV driving behind the suspect’s truck close to the time of the homicide. Bridegan’s SUV drove approximately 20 seconds behind the truck.
10:16 a.m.: Footage is played that clearly shows an object that looks like a tire in the bed of the truck.
10:08 a.m.: Multiple surveillance videos strung together display the route the truck was taking within the hour leading up to the homicide.
10:02 a.m.: Wallace said despite extensive efforts, they were unable to locate a tag number on the truck. Additionally, there were no license plate readers at the time in the area.
10 a.m.: Wallace describes how officers identified the blue F-150 truck the suspect was driving. Wallace said the truck was driving unusually within the area.
9:56 a.m.: Wallace is asked where the footage was collected that contained partial video of the homicide.
9:50 a.m.: Wallace details which places surveillance footage was collected from and how officers determined the footage was from the correct time and date.
9:42 a.m.: Prosecution asks how and where Corporal Wallace and other officers canvassed for surveillance footage.
9:41 a.m.: Prosecution calls its next witness to the stand, Corporal Brian Wallace of the Jax Beach Police Department, and is sworn in.
9:40 a.m.: The defense finishes its cross-examination and Detective Jarman is excused.
9:38 a.m.: Defense begins cross-examination, asking a series of questions about carefully processing evidence to be sure it links a person to a crime.
9:37 a.m.: Prosecution finishes its questioning and defense is called to perform a cross-examination.
9:33 a.m.: Detective Jarman details how he processed the tire for DNA using completely sterile tools.
9:32 a.m.: The tire laid on the ground at the scene of the crime is brought out. Detective Jarman is asked to identify it and confirms that it is the tire.
9:20 a.m.: Detective Jarman is asked to identify certain pieces of evidence displayed, such as bullet casings on the ground and Bridegan’s covered body.
9:18 a.m.: Prosecution asks how Jarman processed and filmed the crime scene and begins to display the video.
9:13 a.m.: Detective Jarman is sworn in.
9:13 a.m.: Prosecutors call their first witness of the day to the stand, Crime Scene Detective Shane Jarman of the Jax Beach Police Department.
9:12 a.m.: Court is in session.
The killing of Jared Bridegan
Jared Bridegan, a St. Johns County father of four, was gunned down Feb. 16, 2022, in Jacksonville Beach. He had just taken his twins, Abby and Liam, whom he shared with ex-wife Shanna Gardner, and his then-2-year-old Bexley, his daughter 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 in Jacksonville Beach. He was headed home to his second wife, Kirsten Bridegan, with whom he shared children Bexley and London.
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 Bexley was still strapped into a car seat in the back seat of Bridegan’s car.
The suspects
Mario 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. He’s accused of hiring Henry Tenon to kill Jared Bridegan.
In July 2026, two of the charges Fernandez Saldana was facing, child abuse and conspiracy to commit murder, were dropped. He has pleaded not guilty to the remaining charges he’s facing. His trial begins Aug. 10, 2026 with jury selection.
Henry Tenon’s arrest in connection to 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. He’s accused of shooting and killing Jared Bridegan.
Tenon, who rented a home from Fernandez Saldana, initially agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder. In February 2026, Tenon decided to withdraw his guilty plea. He is now set to go to trial in March 2027.
Shanna 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. She has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Gardner’s trial is set to take place after her estranged husband’s trial concludes. Jury selection for her trial is set to begin Aug. 31, 2026.
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