FL - Jared Bridegan, 33, father of 4, ambushed & killed, Jacksonville Beach, 16 Feb 2022 *3 arrests, 1 guilty* #2

[Niner]

‘Major issue for Florida’: Legal expert weighs in after Henry Tenon withdraws guilty plea in Jared Bridegan case

Henry Tenon, the man who pleaded guilty to pulling the trigger in the 2022 murder-for-hire killing of Jared Bridegan in Jacksonville Beach, is now seeking to withdraw his guilty plea.

www.news4jax.com

Feb. 13, 2026
JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – Henry Tenon, the man who pleaded guilty to pulling the trigger in the 2022 murder-for-hire killing of Jared Bridegan in Jacksonville Beach, is now seeking to withdraw his guilty plea.

This unexpected move could significantly impact the prosecution’s case against Shanna Gardner and Mario Fernandez, who are accused of orchestrating the murder.

Tenon submitted a three-page motion to withdraw his plea on Friday morning, but the document offers little explanation beyond his refusal to testify against Gardner and Fernandez. He has not claimed coercion, threats, misunderstanding of his rights, or any other common reasons for reversing a plea.
[.....]
A status hearing is scheduled for Feb. 17 at 9 a.m. Tenon’s current attorney has not responded to requests for comment, and the state attorney’s office deferred questions about the motion to the upcoming hearing.

 

[Niner]

Tuesday, February 17th:
*Motions Hearing (@ 9am ET) - FL - Jared Galen Bridegan (33), father of 4 ambushed & killed (shot 4 times), his 2-year-old daughter was just feet away in the back seat, Jacksonville Beach, Feb. 16, 2022. *Henry Arthur Tenon (61/now 65) arrested (1/25/23) & charged (1/26/23) & arraigned (2/16/23) with conspiracy to commit murder in the 1st degree, 2nd degree murder with a weapon, accessory to the fact to a capital felony & child abuse. Plead not guilty. Held without bond (murder) & $1.5M (other counts). Duval County
Trial was set to begin on 7/19/23 was cancelled, Tenon plead guilty (3/16/23) to 2nd degree murder. Sentencing hearing on 6/14/23 was vacated & rescheduled on 7/12/23 & was vacated. Filed motion (2/13/26) to change guilty plea to not guilty.
2nd case ID #16-2022-CF-008168-AXXX-MA for Driving while license suspended or revoked-Felony & unlawful speed (requires speed). Hearings running concurrent with murder case.
Judge London M. Kite presiding. Asst. State attorney Christina Simak & Asst. Public Defender Joshua I. Goldborough & Jlie Agent Schlax for murder case. Asst. Public Defender Matthew Barrett Hoover Bodie for driving case.
Case & Court info from 2/16/22 thru 9/8/25 reference post #899 here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...-feb-2022-3-arrests-1-guilty-2.689030/page-45
12/2/25 Update: Status hearing held with Judge London M. Kite presiding.. Defendant present in jail. Attorney for defendant Julie Schlax & Asst. State attorney Christina Simak Stifler present. Next status hearing on 1/12/26 @ 9am.
1/12/26 Update: Status hearing held with Judge London M. Kite presiding. Present: Assistant State attorney Christina Simak Stifler defense attorney Julie Agent Schlsx with defendant present in jail. Next status hearing on 4/7/26 @ 9am.
2/13/26 Update: In a motion filed Friday morning, Tenon said he “will not testify against Gardner or Saldana. Mr. Tenon is seeking to withdraw his previously entered plea of guilty & proceed to trial.” TThe State Attorney’s Office responded, “We are going defer comment until the actual hearing.” Tenon’s attorney, Julie Schlax, declined to comment. Prosecutors initially said they would seek the death penalty in the case but withdrew the death filing last November. Tenon’s original plea deal reduced his charges to second-degree murder with a recommendation of the lesser penalty of 15 years in prison, in exchange for his testimony against Saldana & Gardner. It’s not clear how the motion will affect the state’s case. A hearing on the motion is set for 2/17/26.
*Mario Enrique Fernandez Saldana (34/now 37) – Next Pretrial hearing on 3/6/26.
*Shanna Gardner Fernandez (36/now 38) – Next Pretrial hearing on 3/6/26.

 

[PayrollNerd]

HENRY ARTHUR TENON
DOB: 2/9/1961

16-2023-CF-000888-AXXX-MA (1st case ID # for MURDER IN THE SECOND DEGREE WITH A WEAPON)


Calendars are the same for both cases. However, Dockets are slightly different.

Calendar


Docket






16-2022-CF-008168-AXXX-MA (2nd case ID # for DRIVING WHILE LICENSE SUSPENDED OR REVOKED - FELONY and UNLAWFUL SPEED (REQUIRES SPEED))

Docket

CORE - Clerk Online Resource ePortal

 

[PayrollNerd]

16-2023-CF-002862-AXXX-MA
SHANNA LEE GARDNER
DOB: 3/18/1987

16-2023-CF-002862-AXXX-MA
MARIO ENRIQUE FERNANDEZ SALDANA
DOB: 4/28/1988

Info is the same for both of them.

Calendar


Docket

CORE - Clerk Online Resource ePortal

 

[PayrollNerd]

Confessed hitman in Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire case gets motion approved to withdraw guilty plea

Henry Tenon, 65, will now go on trial. He's one of three people set to be tried, along with Bridegan's ex-wife Shanna Gardner and her second husband Mario Fernandez.

www.firstcoastnews.com

Henry Tenon, 65, appeared in Duval County court Tuesday morning alongside his attorney Julie Schlax, asking the court to grant his motion to withdraw his guilty plea.

When Judge London Kite asked what prompted this move, Schlax said there is no alleged wrongdoing in the request; she asked Kite to use her own discretion.

Before backing out, as part of Tenon's plea agreement, prosecutors would have dropped all of his charges except second-degree murder in exchange for him "truthfully" testifying against Gardner and Fernandez.

Tenon is set to be back in court Monday, March 23 at 9 a.m.

 

[Weki]

Is he intellectually challenged? He was smiling a lot, which was weird. He looked cheeky throughout. I’m suspecting some jailhouse lawyers filled his head up with nonsense.

The state showed up with confidence and said they don’t care either way. I hope that means their case is strong without Tenon and all these losers will be convicted and LWOP’d. We’ll see who’s smiling then.

 

[Niner]

Grand jury indicts man who confessed to killing Jared Bridegan for murder, child abuse, more

A Duval County grand jury has indicted a man who confessed to killing Jared Bridegan on first-degree murder, child abuse and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon charges, court records show. ...

www.yahoo.com

Feb. 20, 2026
A Duval County grand jury has indicted a man who confessed to killing Jared Bridegan on first-degree murder, child abuse and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon charges, court records show.

Henry Tenon, 65, no longer faces charges of conspiracy to commit murder and accessory after the fact, records show. He was previously charged with second-degree murder, but that charge has been upgraded to first-degree in the indictment.
[.....]
According to court records, Gardner and Fernandez-Saldana will be back in court on March 6 at 9 a.m. for a pre-trial hearing. Tenon will be back in court on March 23 at 9 a.m.

 

[Weki]

Whew state wasted no time upgrading Tenon to 1st degree! He is the shooter and he confessed. What is he thinking? I think he’s intellectually disabled but just not enough to be incompetent.

 

[Seattle1]

'You got it,' judge tells Tenon of getting a trial in Bridegan case

A day after the four-year anniversary of Jared Bridegan's ambush death, Henry Tenon has been allowed to withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial.

dukewire.usatoday.com

2/17/26

A few days after turning 65, Tenon and his recently assigned new attorney Julie Schlax filed a three-page motion to withdraw his March 16, 2023, guilty plea that came with a the possibility that he be sentenced to as little as 15 years but up to life in prison. He also agreed to testify against his former landlord Mario Fernandez Saldana and his then-wife Shanna Gardner, Bridegan's ex.

It's been a back-and-forth case with dozens of hearings and motions. During the Feb. 17 hearing on Tenon's motion, Judge London Kite said she wanted to be clear what he wants to do since he has reversed course several times. She explained to him the parameters of either keeping the plea agreement or proceeding to a trial. He said he didn’t quite understand all of that. So the judge allowed him a moment to go over it with his attorney.

[..]

Judge: “So what do you want? Let’s just put it simple, what do you want to do? Do you want to maintain your plea or do you want a trial?”

Tenon: “I want a trial.”

Judge: “You got it.”

 

[Seattle1]

2/19/26

Man who once confessed to killing Jared Bridegan indicted for murder, child abuse by grand jury

Just days after withdrawing his guilty plea, the man accused of shooting and killing St. Johns County father Jared Bridegan has been indicted by a grand jury.

www.actionnewsjax.com

 

[arielilane]

Oopies daisy, Oh, SG.


Cathy Russon reposted

Prosecutors released text messages they say show Shanna Gardner asking her friends for help in killing her ex-husband. #CourtTV What do YOU think?

https://twitter.com/x/status/2028518715604509073

Docs: Shanna Gardner imagined slitting ex's throat in texts

Prosecutors released text messages they say show Shanna Gardner asking her friends for help in killing her ex-husband.

www.courttv.com

 

[nodamselindistress]

Not sure how much of this is really "new" news but hopefully things start happening in this case now.

A friend of Shanna Gardner said she could help in Jared Bridegan’s murder case. Here’s what she told investigators

The State Attorney’s Office released more evidence Wednesday in the 2022 Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire case, including an audio recording of a woman who gave prosecutors greater insight into the relationship between Shanna Gardner and Mario Fernandez.

www.news4jax.com

 

[arielilane]

‘Shanna needs a guy’: Authorities release texts in Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire case

The State Attorney’s Office on Monday publicly released text message exchanges between Shanna Gardner and people close to her.

www.yahoo.com

‘Shanna needs a guy’: Authorities release texts in Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire case

The State Attorney’s Office on Monday publicly released text message exchanges between Shanna Gardner and people close to her.

www.actionnewsjax.com

March 2, 2026

 

[PayrollNerd]

16-2023-CF-002862-AXXX-MA
SHANNA LEE GARDNER - ONLY
DOB: 3/18/1987

The Yes in the last column means it is cancelled. So they've moved it a day earlier.

CORE - Clerk Online Resource ePortal

 

[PayrollNerd]

16-2023-CF-002862-AXXX-MA
MARIO ENRIQUE FERNANDEZ SALDANA - ONLY
DOB: 4/28/1988

CORE - Clerk Online Resource ePortal

 

[Cryptic]

Is he intellectually challenged? He was smiling a lot, which was weird. He looked cheeky throughout. I’m suspecting some jailhouse lawyers filled his head up with nonsense.

I can possibly see him as dimwitted, but still fully responsible for his actions. Then again, he might have a relatively sharp criminal mind and withdrew his plea due to:

- If you want my testimony, you need to give me a meaningful plea bargain. I am 65 years old. So... even with time served, your plea bargain of minimum of 15 years to life in prison is still very, very likely a "die in prison" sentence ( FL parole board is probably not friendly towards trigger pullers, not even elderly ones after 15 years).

- So..... for my valuable, No- very valuable testimony, I want say... 15 years maximum sentence and..... I want to be eligible for parole before that, and..... I want the State to not oppose any parole I am eligible for. I will still probably serve 15, but one never knows.

- If you don't take my new "me centric" plea bargain, then I am ready to go down alone to a life sentence, because that is what I was effectively going to get anyways. Heck, I may wind up "testifying" (lying) for the defense. I have nothing to lose and my prison cell is boring.

 

[Weki]

I can possibly see him as dimwitted, but still fully responsible for his actions. Then again, he might have a relatively sharp criminal mind and withdrew his plea due to:

- If you want my testimony, you need to give me a meaningful plea bargain. I am 65 years old. So... even with time served, your plea bargain of minimum of 15 years to life in prison is still very, very likely a "die in prison" sentence ( FL parole board is probably not friendly towards trigger pullers, not even elderly ones after 15 years).

- So..... for my valuable, No- very valuable testimony, I want say... 15 years maximum sentence and..... I want to be eligible for parole before that, and..... I want the State to not oppose any parole I am eligible for. I will still probably serve 15, but one never knows.

- If you don't take my new "me centric" plea bargain, then I am ready to go down alone to a life sentence, because that is what I was effectively going to get anyways. Heck, I may wind up "testifying" (lying) for the defense. I have nothing to lose and my prison cell is boring.

Excellent points! This is likely his calculation. I gotta say it makes sense. At his age 15 years is a life sentence (I hadn’t paid attention to his age) so why not get some court excitement by messing about with the state and go out with a bang.