JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The husband of the ex-wife of a man gunned down in front of his 2-year-old daughter on a rural road in Florida was arrested Thursday and charged with the man’s murder, according to police.
Mario Fernandez-Saldana was arrested Thursday and charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony, and child abuse in connection to the murder of Jared Bridegan, according to a news release from the Jacksonville Beach Police Department.
Bridegan was shot and killed on Feb. 16, 2022, after he took his children to dinner - twins he shared with his ex-wife, Shanna Gardner Fernandez, and his then-2-year-old daughter he shared with his wife, Kirsten Bridegan, according to WJAX.
Bridegan dropped his twins off at his ex-wife’s house when he was driving on a one-way road and came across a tire in the road.
Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith said that the tire was put there on purpose, according to WJAX.
“The tire was purposely placed there to make him stop which he did,” said Smith, according to WJAX. “Tragically he began to exit his vehicle to move the tire and he was gunned down in cold blood.”
Bridegan was shot multiple times while his then-2-year-old daughter was in the back seat of his car, according to the news outlet.
Police say Fernandez-Saldana was arrested Thursday by a law enforcement team made up of ATF, the Jacksonville Beach Police Department, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Central Florida. Along with his arrest, Fernandez-Saldana was also indicted by a grand jury in Duval County.
Fernandez-Saldana’s co-conspirator, Henry Tenon, pled guilty to second-degree murder with a weapon and reportedly agreed to testify against him, according to police.
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