No bail for Fernandez Saldana in Bridegan death; in-laws address 'Gardner family matter'

Mario Fernandez Saldana, one of two men arrested in the 2022 death of Jared Bridegan in Jacksonville Beach, was in a Duval County court for the first time Thursday to hear the litany of charges against him.

The same day, news stations reported a letter from the parents of his wife — Bridegan's ex-wife — to their associates said they were aware of his arrest but that the couple had been estranged for some time.

Fernandez Saldana is charged with solicitation to commit a capital felony, conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree murder and child abuse. He is in the Duval County jail without bail.

His next court date is April 4. He is being represented by Jacksonville attorney Jesse Dreicer, a partner at Tassone, Dreicer & Hill.

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Fernandez Saldana, 34, was arrested March 16 in Orange County and extradited to Jacksonville. He is the estranged husband of Bridegan's ex-wife, Shanna Gardner.

Gardner, who moved to Washington state with her children, has made no comment to the media on Fernandez Saldana's arrest.

But her parents, Shelli and Sterling Gardner, who own a Utah-based crafts company called Stampin’ Up!, apparently sent a letter about the "Gardner family matter" to their distributors, according to First Coast News. Stampin' Up's media office has not responded to a Times-Union inquiry.

Here is the content of the email, according to First Coast News: "Stampin’ Up! is aware that Mario Fernandez …has been arrested in conjunction with an ongoing investigation. Shanna (Shelli and Sterling’s daughter) and Mario have been separated for an extended period of time. We have no further details about the situation other than what has been reported by the media.

"We understand that some demonstrators have received troubling comments about this matter on their social media platforms. Please feel free to delete comments of an inappropriate nature and block/report those commenters on your personal accounts.

"You may also share this email with your teams if needed. Stampin’ Up!’s longstanding commitment to you, and all of our demonstrators, is unwavering, Thank you for your concern and continued support."

Jacksonville attorney Hank Coxe, who represents Shanna Gardner, said he never comments on pending cases and did not think she or her parents would publicly do so either.

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Fernandez Saldana and Henry Arthur Tenon, 62, are accused of the planned murder of Bridegan, who was shot after dropping his twin children off at Gardner's Jacksonville Beach home. Bridegan, a 33-year-old Microsoft executive, was on his way home to St. Augustine with his 2-year-old daughter when he stopped because of a tire on the road.

When he got out to move it, he was immediately gunned down, police said. The toddler was unharmed in her safety seat and nothing appeared to be stolen.

During a March 16 news conference, the State Attorney's Office announced both Fernandez Saldana's arrest and Tenon's guilty plea to second-degree murder with a weapon. State Attorney Melissa Nelson also revealed that Tenon said he was the shooter and agreed to testify against co-conspirator Fernandez Saldana and any others who may have been involved. She did not name any other suspects but said it's still an active investigation.

Tenon was arrested in January on initial charges of conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree murder with a weapon, accessory after the fact to a capital felony and child abuse. Nelson said had lived in a rental property owned by Fernandez Saldana.

An arrest warrant included financial records from Tenon's bank on Oct. 14, 2022, that showed three handwritten checks from Fernandez Saldana. Phone records also showed Tenon and Fernandez Saldana had 35 phone contacts the month of Bridegan's attack. No motive has officially been declared, but the arrest warrant noted Bridegan's bitter divorce and a contentious relationship with both Gardner and Fernandez Saldana.

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Fernandez Saldana extradited to Jacksonville in Jared Bridegan murder