Judge settles final motions before first Jared Bridegan trial begins

Final motions were settled before jurors were called for the first trial in the Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire case, clearing the last pretrial disputes in Mario Fernandez Saldana’s case. Jury selection was set to begin Aug. 10, and Fernandez Saldana is the first of three people to be tried in the 2022 shooting of Bridegan, a 33-year-old father of four from Jacksonville Beach.

The rulings matter because they define the evidence the panel will hear when the case shifts from motion practice to testimony. On July 31, Judge London Kite approved limits on what defense lawyers could ask jailhouse informants, a ruling that narrowed one avenue for challenging the state’s witnesses before trial. Prosecutors have also said Henry Tenon was not alone on the night Bridegan was killed, and the state said two other people were at the scene when the shooting happened.

That background gives the first trial added weight in a case built around alleged coordination rather than a single gunman. Prosecutors dropped conspiracy to commit murder and child abuse charges against Fernandez Saldana on July 27, saying they wanted to streamline the case ahead of trial. The remaining charges keep the focus on the state’s murder-for-hire theory, while the defense enters jury selection with fewer counts to answer and with informant questioning already constrained by the court.

Bridegan was shot and killed on Feb. 16, 2022, after stopping in the roadway where a tire had been placed in his path. The case quickly drew attention because of the alleged role of multiple defendants and the changing posture of the prosecution. Shanna Lee Gardner was indicted by a grand jury in 2023, and prosecutors initially said they would seek the death penalty. That changed in November 2025, when the State Attorney’s Office withdrew its intent to seek death in the case. In February 2026, Tenon was granted permission to withdraw his guilty plea.

By the time jurors are seated, the court will have already drawn the lines around what they can hear about informants, who prosecutors say was present, and how the state will present its case against Fernandez Saldana. The first trial begins with the evidence narrowed and the murder-for-hire narrative ready for its first public test.