JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. \u2013 Shanna Gardner and her estranged husband, Mario Fernandez, were set to appear in court Friday morning for a pre-trial hearing in Jared Bridegan\u2019s murder-for-hire case.<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s pre-trial hearing comes two months after the State Attorney\u2019s Office released body camera footage and 911 calls related to the 2022 shooting death of Jared Bridegan.<\/p>\n
Fernandez and Gardner are both under indictment for first-degree murder and other charges. Prosecutors allege they orchestrated a murder-for-hire plot to kill Bridegan.<\/p>\n
RELATED: 911 calls describe scene of confusion in Sanctuary neighborhood on night of Jared Bridegan\u2019s ambush murder<\/a> | A friend of Shanna Gardner said she could help in Jared Bridegan\u2019s murder case. Here\u2019s what she told investigators<\/a><\/p>\n In September, the State Attorney\u2019s Office provided new insight into the chaotic moments surrounding Bridegan\u2019s shooting. <\/p>\n Multiple 911 calls on the night of the shooting captured varying perspectives of the incident, with witnesses reporting gunshots and an SUV stopped in the road with a man lying outside and a young girl inside. <\/p>\n Due to the graphic nature of the body camera footage from responding officers, News4JAX only shared still images from the video. <\/p>\n Murder-for-hire scheme<\/p>\n According to detectives, Gardner was tired of sharing custody of her twin children with Bridegan.<\/p>\n Fernandez<\/a>, she knew, could \u201ctake care of him\u201d because of his military background, Gardner told a friend. At least that\u2019s what the friend told investigators<\/a> as she detailed the strained marriage between Gardner and Fernandez and the contentious ongoing custody battle between Gardner and Bridegan.<\/p>\n RELATED: A friend of Shanna Gardner said she could help in Jared Bridegan\u2019s murder case. Here\u2019s what she told investigators<\/a> | How investigators say they untangled conspiracy to kill Jared Bridegan<\/a> <\/p>\n Investigators say that\u2019s exactly what Fernandez did, hiring Henry Tenon<\/a>, a tenant at one of his properties, to kill Bridegan.<\/p>\n In his initial interview with police in July 2022, which was also released last week, Tenon told investigators that he had been renting a home from Fernandez in Jacksonville\u2019s Biltmore neighborhood for several years.<\/p>\n He said Fernandez never talked about his personal life, and he only saw the man when he came to pick up the rent checks.<\/p>\n By February of 2023, however, Tenon had been arrested<\/a> in the murder-for-hire plot, eventually pleading guilty and admitting to being the gunman who killed Bridegan<\/a>. <\/p>\n Tenon\u2019s original court records said he became involved in the conspiracy on Jan. 4, 2022 — just over a month before Bridegan was killed<\/a>.<\/p>\n Investigators said when Tenon was arrested on an unrelated felony driving charge in August 2022, they questioned him about Bridegan\u2019s murder and a Ford F-150 truck they had been searching for since the shooting.<\/p>\n RELATED | Follow the money: Checks written to Jared Bridegan\u2019s admitted killer connect him to 2 accused in \u2018murder-for-hire plot\u2019<\/a> | Jared Bridegan\u2019s wife files wrongful death lawsuit against 3 accused in his murder<\/a><\/p>\n Tenon was later arrested in Bridegan\u2019s murder, and investigators said the single link between Tenon and Bridegan was Fernandez.<\/p>\n As part of his plea deal, Tenon agreed to testify against Fernandez and Gardner, but he has since changed his tune, making noise about withdrawing his guilty plea<\/a>, although that has not yet happened<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is the belief, at least in the legal community, that Henry Tenon is going to come back and say, \u2018What I told you before is not true.\u2019 How much is not true, his involvement, what he did, Shanna Gardner\u2019s involvement, or not, we don\u2019t exactly know,\u201d explained Gene Nichols, a Jacksonville attorney not affiliated with the case.<\/p>\n Nichols said if Tenon backtracks, he could be facing much more than the minimum 15 years in prison that are part of his plea deal. He could even become eligible for the death penalty.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere that gets so interesting from a trial standpoint is he\u2019s willing to face the death penalty. Why would he do that unless he\u2019s actually telling the truth when he backtracks? And that\u2019s going to be a very strong argument for the defense,\u201d Nichols said.<\/p>\n Gardner and Fernandez have both pleaded not guilty. They face the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.<\/p>\n