A man is being held without bond on Friday after detectives accused him of hiring a man to kill his wife’s ex-husband, a father of four who was shot dead near his daughter just two days after Valentine’s Day last year.
Mario Fernandez, 34, stands accused of hiring Henry Tenon to kill Jared Bridegan, 33, a Microsoft executive who had been married to his wife Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, according to prosecutors.
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Bridegan, who lived in St. Augustine, had just dropped off his 9-year-old twin son and daughter at Gardner’s home in Jacksonville Beach, and he was in the car with his 2-year-old daughter from a second marriage when Tenon, 62, shot him, police said.
Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul N. Smith described the murder as a “planned and target ambush” while announcing Tenon’s arrest in January.
On Thursday, Tenon pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with a weapon as part of a plea agreement that includes testifying against Fernandez, according to prosecutors.
Federal agents and deputies arrested Fernandez in Orange County on Thursday. He is facing charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony, and child abuse in Duval County.