DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. – The accused gunman in the Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire case has been indicted on charges of first-degree murder, child abuse and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
This follows a judge’s decision this week allowing Henry Tenon to withdraw his guilty plea.
Court documents also show that the charges of conspiracy and accessory after the fact against Tenon have been abandoned.
After hearing from prosecutors who had no objection to Tenon’s motion, and from Tenon himself, who explicitly stated that he wanted a trial, Judge London Kite granted the motion.
“This created, in essence, a third trial, but in the grand scheme, as we saw from the state of Florida today, they took the position of, ‘Sure, we’ll try this case,’ and the reason why they’ll try it is because Henry Tennon has already confessed to this murder," said Gene Nichols, a defense attorney not connected to the case.
READ | Henry Tenon’s motion to withdraw plea
According to the motion filed on Friday, Tenon, who’s accused of fatally shooting the 33-year-old father of four, asked the judge to let him take back his guilty plea before sentencing and proceed with a trial instead.
Bridegan, a Microsoft executive, was killed in an ambush-style shooting in Jacksonville Beach in February 2022.
RELATED | 4 years later: A timeline of the Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire case
Investigators have said they believe Tenon killed Bridegan as part of a murder-for-hire scheme orchestrated by Bridegan’s ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, and her now-estranged husband, Mario Fernandez.
Investigators say Fernandez wrote three checks to Tenon totaling $10,000 in the weeks after the murder.
In his initial interview with police in July 2022, Tenon told investigators that he had been renting a home from Fernandez in Jacksonville’s Biltmore neighborhood for several years.
In January 2023, Tenon was charged with second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, accessory after the fact, and child abuse. The last charge stemmed from the fact that Bridegan’s toddler daughter was in the back seat of his SUV when he was killed, and a bullet narrowly missed her.
Tenon later pleaded guilty only to second-degree murder with a weapon under a deal requiring him to testify against Gardner and Fernandez, in exchange for dropped charges and a sentencing range starting at 15 years.
However, in January 2025, Tenon changed his tune, stating that his testimony against Gardner and Fernandez was false, and he requested a new attorney.
More than a year later, relying on Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.170(f), Tenon’s motion filed on Friday argued “the court may, in its discretion, and shall upon good cause, at any time before a sentence, permit a plea of guilty to be withdrawn.”
When Kite asked Tenon’s attorney about the reason for the motion filing, the attorney said she would not articulate the cause.
“That’s why we’re simply asking under 3.170 for the court to use her ability to grant trial on the merits,” she said.
And that’s what Kite did.
But now that Tenon has walked away from his plea deal and is headed to trial, Nichols said he risks facing more serious charges.
“Most likely speaking, the State Attorney’s Office will probably seek another indictment for first-degree murder, which they got the first time, which is going to cause a mandatory life imprisonment (if convicted),” Nichols said.
The decision also impacts what happens next for Gardner and Fernandez.
Tenon was expected to be a key witness against them — but now, that testimony appears off the table. Nichols, though, said prosecutors clearly aren’t concerned, since they didn’t oppose the motion.
“There’s no doubt that the state of Florida believes that they can prove this case without Henry Tenon,” Nichols said.
Tenon will appear in court for a pre-trial hearing on March 23.
Meanwhile, Gardner and Fernandez — both under indictment for first-degree murder and other charges — are still on track to have their trial this summer, with jury selection set for Aug. 10.
In November 2025, prosecutors said they would no longer be seeking the death penalty against Gardner and Fernandez.