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Documents freshly released in a high-profile Florida murder for hire case indirectly implicate a former peace officer. Not only was the hit premeditated, it was practiced. Cell phone tracking confirms Jared Bridegan’s killer “drove the homicide route on two prior occasions.”
Murder for money
On February 15, “hundreds of pages of evidence documents were released, uncovering shocking facts about the murder for hire case that has been gathering national interest for the last two years.”
The shooting death of 33-year-old Jared Bridegan happened in St. Johns County, Florida.
So far, three individuals have been formally charged with Bridegan’s death, including his ex-wife Shanna Gardner, her “estranged husband” Mario Fernandez Saldana, and “Saldana’s former tenant,” Henry Tenon. Tracking data “shows that Tenon drove the homicide route on two prior occasions in January, before the night of the murder.”
More People, Including Peace Officer, Possibly Involved in Florida Microsoft Executive Jared Bridegan Murder https://t.co/cNFIHGH41d via @crimeonlinenews
— The Docket (@ChasingPaper89) February 16, 2024
When Bridegan and Gardner “filed for a divorce, they decided on 50/50 custody of the kids, but Gardner could not move the children out of state without Bridegan’s consent or a court order. Multiple witnesses told detectives Gardner had a lot of ‘hate‘ for Bridegan.”
One of the big surprises in the newly released evidence is that there are five people, “likely involved in a conspiracy to murder Jared Bridegan.” The names of the other two were carefully redacted. They were identified only as “Fernandez Saldana’s associates.”
Further down the huge stack of documents was a warrant stating “that one of the potential conspirators was a former reserve police officer who had been convicted of a felony in the past.”
A 10mm weapon
One of the more interesting things which caught attention of the press is “that this unknown man was known to own a 10mm weapon, the same type of gun Bridegan was shot with. However, the murder weapon was never recovered.”
Police are convinced the former officer isn’t telling all he knows. “[Redacted] lied to law enforcement regarding his knowledge of and possession of firearms potentially relevant to this investigation.”
He may have been along for the ride with Tenon that fatal night. “Tenon and [Redacted] have both been interviewed and Affiant has also learned they have been deceitful with law enforcement.”
New evidence released this week suggested Jared Bridegan's murder was not only planned, it was also rehearsed.
— News4JAX (@wjxt4) February 17, 2024
They were caught in lies about the murder but the specific lies they were caught in aren’t documented. Another interesting little fact is that the ex-wife hired a PR firm for advice how to respond.
According to the court paperwork, “in a phone call Gardner had with a PR firm she hired, there was significant conversation between the two discussing alternate theories of homicide. After advising Gardner to take a vacation and use a fake name, the firm stated that maybe a gay lover had killed Bridegan.” Maybe Frosty the Snowman did it, but he didn’t.
The investigation also learned that “one of Bridegan’s relatives told police that Gardner had talked about hiring a ‘hitman‘ to take him out.” That sounds like premeditated murder. Another juicy tidbit is that Gardner had a lot of money riding on Bridegan’s demise. The Gardner family had a little trust fund. “When our daughter, Shanna, shall have no further legal entanglements with her ex-husband, Jared G. Bridegan, she may elect to serve as trustee.” That means “she would control the money.“
