JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The estranged husband and wife accused of orchestrating the ambush murder of Jared Bridegan in 2022 saw each other for the first time in over a year when they appeared back-to-back in court Friday.
Shanna Gardner and Mario Fernandez have appeared in court separately, but on Friday, they faced the judge back-to-back as co-defendants in the murder of Bridegan, Gardner’s ex-husband.
Although they are being tried together, Gardner and Fernandez have separate attorneys. Gardner is represented by high-profile defense attorney Jose Baez, who has requested a mountain load of discovery from prosecutors.
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Bridegan was shot multiple times at close range in February 2022 after dropping his older two children off at Gardner’s house. Police said he was ambushed with his toddler daughter in the backseat of his SUV after someone left a tire blocking the road.
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Gardner and Fernandez are each facing charges of first-degree murder, solicitation to commit first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and child abuse in connection with Bridegan’s death.
Along with Gardner and Fernandez, Henry Tenon, who once rented a home from Fernandez, is charged in the conspiracy to kill the father of four in Jacksonville Beach. Tenon pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and has agreed to testify against others involved in the case.
Gardner and Fernandez both face the death penalty if they’re convicted. Gardner wore plain clothes during the hearing Friday, after Baez asked the judge for her to be out of the typical jail jumpsuit and shackles. Fernandez remained in a green Duval County jail jumpsuit with handcuffs and shackles on his feet.
Baez said it has been an uphill battle representing Gardner, with so much publicity on the case.
“My biggest challenge is trying to unring the bell,” he told News4JAX after the hearing. “I mean, there’s a lot of people, and a lot of publicity out there that somehow paints a story that has yet to be proven, and in fact, has yet to show up by way of evidence. So that’s, that’s, that’s a horrible challenge for any citizen accused to be facing. And, you know, fortunately, will have the ability to go through it and, and hopefully try to turn the tide of it.”
He said his client was in plain clothes because she is presumed innocent and should be treated fairly. He also said she deserves to be released on bond as the court case progresses.
Citing a “breach of confidentiality,” Fernandez’s attorneys recently asked for State Attorney Melissa Nelson’s office to be disqualified from trying the case altogether.
In that 63-page filing, Fernandez’s attorneys say prosecutors are using privileged and private communications, including text messages and emails, as evidence.
Lawyer Jesse Dreicer, who filed the motion, had no comment about it after court on Friday.
Prosecutors filed a 13-page response Thursday, saying the defense motion was improper and lacked lawful grounds. They said a simple oversight by a third party was to blame.
“The oversight, which involved uploading a few emails and one text between the Defendant and his attorney(s), was an unintentional act by the third-party vendor,” the state’s response said.
The statement went on to say that after realizing what happened, the prosecutor “contacted the defense teams to alert them to the oversight and immediately disabled the platform to ensure none of the emails or the text were reviewed by anyone. No one from the prosecution team or the State Attorney’s Office reviewed any privileged emails or texts.”
The courtroom Friday included journalists from across the country and about a dozen friends of the Bridegan family who said they were there to show their support.