JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Mario Fernandez was back in front of a judge on Thursday as two defense motions were presented in court.
In the first motion, the defense argued the alleged conspiracy timelines in the Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire case were overly broad, saying the charging documents did not clearly define when the conspiracies began and ended, and left uncertainty about who else may have been involved.
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“So, there is some other unindicted coconspirator at some point who has not been arrested, not been identified, and I should not have to be left to guess who that is,” the defense said in court.
Prosecutors responded that conspiracy cases do not hinge on a single moment and that they are not required at this stage to lay out their full theory.
“We’re not asking them to guess, we are not required to reveal our theory of the case,” the prosecutor said, adding that additional discovery, including depositions, remains.
Judge London Kite did not immediately rule on the request and said she would table her decision to do more research.
The second motion focused on Henry Tenon, the admitted gunman, with the defense questioning his credibility and citing inconsistencies in prior statements.
Tenon has pleaded guilty to shooting the 33-year-old father of four and agreed to testify against Gardner and Fernandez, but earlier this year,he claimed parts of his story were false, putting his credibility front and center.
The defense asked the court to allow interrogatories — formal written questions that require responses under court direction.
Kite raised ethical concerns about that approach, saying it risked turning Tenon’s attorney into a witness, and suggested a series of depositions as an alternative.
“And it doesn’t, in my mind, run a very dangerous risk of making his lawyer, that is supposed to be guarding his rights, a witness against him,” Kite said.
The defense said it was satisfied with that conclusion, and Kite denied the motion to issue interrogatories to Tenon.
Fernandez and Shanna Gardner are scheduled to appear Feb. 6 for their next pretrial hearing.