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Posted on 03/17/2023 9:43:37 AM PDT by george76
Jared Bridegan, a former Microsoft executive and father of four, was gunned down in Florida last year in front of his infant daughter. The hitman responsible for Bridegan's murder not only pleaded guilty Thursday, but also turned on his alleged co-conspirator.
Officials indicated that immediately after the hitman entered his guilty plea, a judge signed the arrest warrant for Mario Fernandez Saldana, the new husband of Bridegan's ex-wife. Saldana was taken into custody around 9:35 a.m. without incident.
What's the background? Bridegan, 33, was gunned down on Feb. 16, 2022, in the area of Jacksonville Drive and Sanctuary Boulevard in front of his 2-year-old daughter, who was sitting in the back seat of his car, reported the Florida Times-Union. He had just dropped off his 9-year-old twins at his ex-wife's residence.
Responding to a call around 8 p.m., officers found Bridegan's body in a wooded area near the road but his daughter unharmed. Handgun shell casings were found at the scene as well as a damaged tire. The victim was reportedly shot at close range.
....
According to officials, a tire had purposefully been set on the road blocking the way. When Bridegan exited his vehicle to move the tire, police say "he was gunned down in cold blood."
Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith said, "This was a planned and target[ed] ambush and murder."
In late January 2023, Smith announced that 61-year-old felon Henry Arthur Tenon had been charged in connection with Bridegan's slaying. Tenon was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree murder with a weapon, accessory after the fact to capital felony, and child abuse.
The Times-Union indicated that Tenon was a career criminal with a felonious record in Georgia and nine arrests in Jacksonville.
At the time of Tenon's arrest, State Attorney Melissa Nelson noted that "Henry Tenon did not act alone."
There was a great deal of speculation about possible motives and accomplices, especially since Bridegan and his ex, 35-year-old Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, had a long and bitter divorce.
Gardner-Fernandez recently hired a defense attorney to deal with media pressure and accusations that she or her new husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, might have had something to do with Bridegan's grisly demise.
Gardner-Fernandez told the Times-Union, "I feel for Jared's family and what they are going through. I can't even imagine."
The victim, who had similarly remarried, was survived by widow Kirsten Bridegan, with whom he had two children.
Kirsten has pushed ardently for clues as to who might have wanted her husband dead and why, noting, "He was a dedicated father. He did everything for his children, and he cannot be replaced. They will never have their dad back. I want answers."
Death penalty Chief Smith announced on Thursday that Mario Fernandez Saldana had been arrested in connection with Bridegan's murder.
WTLV-TV previously established that the accused hitman had rented a property from Saldana.
"I was not surprised that there was a connection. It's tragic, my immediate thoughts were for Liam and Abigail and what they are going through right now because of what that could implicate, but I was not surprised with that connection being made," Kirsten Bridegan said upon learning of the link.
ATF Special Agent Robert Bryson told reporters Thursday that Saldana was arrested around 9:35 a.m. without incident and transported to the Orange County jail.
State Attorney Nelson indicated that as part of Tenon's plea agreement with the State of Florida, "he has agreed to testify truthfully against those he worked with to murder Jared Bridegan. ... Tenon's cooperation has both corroborated evidence collected during the investigation and provided additional evidence against Mario Fernandez Saldana for his role in the planning and execution of Jared's murder."
ABC News reported that phone records showed Tenon and Saldana had 35 "phone contacts" in February 2022, the month Bridegan was murdered. The hitman and the disgruntled ex-wife's husband interacted by phone on multiple other occasions between March and June, according Saldana's arrest warrant.
A grand jury has indicted Saldana with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony, and child abuse.
Nelson noted that if found guilty of first-degree murder, Saldana faces the death penalty or life imprisonment.
After Thursday's press briefing, Kirsten Bridegan said, "We have great relief knowing that two of the people behind my husband's murder are behind bars and are no longer a threat to our family. ... We are also still angry — angry that they were walking free while we were grappling with the reality that Jared wouldn't be here for any future memories, vacations or tender moments with our kids."
Kirsten Bridegan added, "We have fought hard for the truth and the world now knows what we have known all along; that Jared truly was an innocent victim. ... Since day one, those in charge of the investigation promised us that they would be relentless in their pursuit of justice and they have been."
Bridegan's ex-wife, Shanna, has not been arrested. Police have yet to note whether they intend to make additional arrests.
Ping!....................
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Isn’t there a such thing as a Hit Man’s Code of Ethics? Who does he think he is-Michael Cohen?
Tenon rolled over on Saldana not wanting to take the fall alone for this.....why would he?
The question is does the ex-wife get sucked down also.....my money says yes.
This song came to mind:
“The Things We Do For Love”
[Verse 1]
Too many broken hearts have fallen in the river
Too many lonely souls have drifted out to sea
You lay your bets and then you pay the price
[Refrain]
The things we do for love
The things we do for love
[Verse 2]
Communication is the problem to the answer
You’ve got her number
And your hand is on the phone
The weather’s turned and all the lines are down
[Refrain]
The things we do for love
The things we do for love
[Chorus]
Like walking in the rain and the snow
When there’s nowhere to go
And you’re feelin’ like a part of you is dying
And you’re looking for the answer in her eyes
You think you’re gonna break up
Then she says she wants to make up
Ooh you made me love you
Ooh you’ve got a way
Ooh you had me crawling up the wall
{Bridge}
[Chorus]
Like walking in the rain and the snow
When there’s nowhere to go
And you’re feelin’ like a part of you is dying
And you’re looking for the answer in her eyes
You think you’re gonna break up
Then she says she wants to make up
Ooh you made me love you
Ooh you’ve got a way
Ooh you had me crawling up the wall
You might also like
Open Arms
SZA
Tennessee Fan
Morgan Wallen
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[Verse 3]
A compromise would surely help the situation
Agree to disagree
But disagree to part
When after all it’s just a compromise of
[Refrain]
The things we do for love
The things we do for love
The things we do for love
The things we do for love
The things we do for love
The things we do for love
The things we do for love....
He held out longer than I figured, though.
my head is still spinning from the articles title. Who?
The First Wife and New Husband, Who Have Since Split
"Kill my husband so we can get married."
Dizzy, I’m so dizzy!
Honestly, these children need a CLASS
unto themselves.
Seems he came up a little short of her expectations.
Wrote several checks to the hitman for the killing.
I hope they charged the husband with “being stupid”.
That is a roadkill wife. Will be a queen in prison. Love the tats. Save the other arm for the gang you join.
That’s what I’m holding out for.
There are three ways to violently kill someone. Do it yourself, hire someone, or use your connections to organized crime or foreign intelligence to have it done for you. I suspect that the amazing Clinton suicides and accidents are a result of the latter. The Clintons may have had no direct connection as the organizations that benefited from their Clinton connections may have simply acted in their own perceived self-interest.
The way the FSB, the former KGB, killed jihadists sheltering in Turkey went down like this. An advance team would locate the target and keep him under surveillance. A hitter would fly in, be picked up, do the kill and then be out of the country before anyone found the body. I suspect the amazing Putin oligarchs falling from windows is handled similarly.
Somebody going down to say, their local bad-boy bar and soliciting a murder is both an amateur and idiot.
That headline is giving me a headache.
Sooo, guys have a thing for chicks who look like they stepped out of a run-down carnival???
She’s going down.................
EVERYBODY’S “Don Corleone” in their own minds these days…. Life is THEIR movie and THEY’RE the star!
Then real life smacks them in the face…
What’s the world coming to when you can’t even trust a hitman anymore?
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