2000s to Early 2010s – Background

• Grew up in Jacksonville Beach.
• Long term connection with the Biggerstaff family through dating Biggerstaff’s daughter in high school.
• Later becomes workout partners with John Biggerstaff.
• Eventually enlists in the Army.
• Receives a less than honorable discharge which later affects eligibility for VA benefits.

Mid 2010s – Returns to Jacksonville Beach

• Re establishes contact with John Biggerstaff.
• Begins working out together again.
• Maintains local social circle connections.
• Enters a relationship with Shanna Gardner after her divorce from Jared Bridegan.

2017 to 2018 – Increasing Role in Gardner’s Life

• Becomes a central figure in Gardner’s household after she ends her marriage to Bridegan.
• Becomes involved in disputes between Gardner and Bridegan.
• Begins to express dislike toward Bridegan to friends and associates.
• Witnesses later recall Fernandez making negative comments about ongoing court battles.

2019 – Marriage to Shanna Gardner

• Gardner and Fernandez marry.
• Fernandez begins managing financial operations through Gardner’s irrevocable trust.
• He becomes Trustee, gaining administrative and financial control.
• Trust contains clause stating Gardner can become Trustee only when she has no remaining legal entanglements with her ex husband.
• This creates clear financial motive noted later by investigators.

2019 to 2021 – Escalating Tension with Bridegan

• Fernandez discusses custody and legal battles with associates.
• Complains frequently about conflict with Bridegan.
• Continues expressing frustration with the ongoing litigation.
• Moves to Orlando for work but maintains involvement in Gardner’s disputes.
• Relationship with Gardner becomes strained and unstable.

Late 2021 – Relationship Deterioration and Motive Formation

• Gardner and Fernandez tell their twins’ school they are planning to divorce.
• Publicly they claim to still be together for appearance purposes.
• Privately Fernandez lives mostly in Orlando while Gardner relocates to Washington State.
• The trust remains the central financial structure connecting the two.
• Motive aligns between ending custody disputes, relieving financial strain, and gaining control of trust assets.

Late 2021 – Increased Communication with Henry Tenon

• Fernandez owns the rental property at 5239 Potomac Avenue.
• Tenon lives at this property and is dependent on Fernandez for tenancy.
• Communication between Fernandez and Tenon becomes more frequent.
• Investigators later classify this period as the beginning of the murder for hire conspiracy.

January 2022 – Pre Murder Preparations

• January 5: Tenon conducts the first practice run along the future murder route.
• January 29: Tenon conducts a second practice run.
• Device data shows alignments between movements of Tenon and Fernandez.
• Possible planning conversations occur during periods of increased communication.

Early February 2022 – Divorce Planning and Conspiratorial Alignment

• Fernandez tells associates he and Gardner are divorcing.
• Discusses marital problems including child rearing disagreements.
• Continues discussing ongoing legal disputes involving Bridegan.
• Maintains coordination and proximity to Tenon at the Potomac Avenue residence.

February 16, 2022 – Day of the Murder

• Afternoon: Fernandez is in communication with Tenon earlier in the day.
• Pattern of communication ceases approaching the murder window to avoid digital tracing.
• Evening: Bridegan follows his routine Wednesday custody exchange, known in detail by Gardner and Fernandez.
• During the murder window
• Google data confirms Fernandez drove to Tenon’s residence at 5239 Potomac Avenue before the murder.
• Fernandez leaves his phone at Tenon’s residence to prevent location tracking.
• Fernandez drives with Tenon along the same path Bridegan later takes.
• Fernandez and Tenon travel toward Bridegan’s drop off point and the future ambush location.
• After the murder, they return to Potomac Avenue.
• Fernandez retrieves his phone once Tenon’s device reconnects to the network.
• Investigators later call this an intentional staging designed to obscure involvement.
• Post Murder: Communication increases between Fernandez and Tenon following several hours of silence.
• Fernandez provides reassurance and maintains control over the financial structure.

March to April 2022 – Payments to Tenon

• Payments originate from First Choice Home Rentals LLC, managed by Fernandez and funded by Gardner’s trust.
• Payments deposited by Tenon:
• March 28: two thousand dollars
• March 29: three thousand dollars
• April 4: five thousand dollars
• These payments align with the murder for hire scheme.
• Audio recording recovered from Tenon’s phone includes discussion of waiting for five thousand dollars to clear.

Spring to Summer 2022 – Fernandez’s Statements and Behavior

• Fernandez tells associates he is experiencing marital difficulties.
• Confirms to others that Gardner is an ex Mormon and that they have had disagreements about child rearing.
• Mentions his plan to buy a toy hauler to live in.
• Continues discussing court battles involving Gardner and Bridegan.
• Witnesses later report statements he made about wanting legal issues with Bridegan resolved.

June 2022 – Witness Disclosures

• Gardner’s friend tells investigators that Gardner once said Fernandez offered to get four men to take care of Bridegan.
• Another witness recalls Fernandez saying he had killed people before.
• These statements strengthen investigators’ belief in premeditation and conspiracy.

July 18, 2022 – Tire Discovery Linked to Fernandez

• The tire used to stage the ambush is located at Tenon’s residence, which is owned by Fernandez.
• Renter reports Tenon retrieved a blue Ford truck from Georgia connected to the scene.
• Fernandez’s ownership of the property forms a direct link to the evidence.

August 2022 – Google Data Confirms Fernandez’s Role

• Device analysis shows Fernandez traveled with Tenon along the murder route.
• Fernandez intentionally left his phone behind at Potomac Avenue to hide the trip.
• Data shows he returned after the murder to retrieve his device.
• This becomes one of the strongest pieces of digital evidence implicating him.

October 6, 2022 – Controlled Call and Search Warrant

• ATF and JBPD execute a search warrant at 5239 Potomac Avenue.
• Investigators call Fernandez informing him of the search.
• He immediately asks what was taken from the residence.
• He says the situation does not make sense and apologizes, behavior investigators interpret as suspicious.

January 2023 – Arrest of Henry Tenon

• Tenon is arrested and begins cooperating with law enforcement.
• Provides direct statements against Fernandez.

Early 2023 – Tenon’s Cooperation Strengthens Case

• Tenon confirms that Fernandez:
• Planned the murder
• Organized the logistics
• Provided instructions
• Paid him through staged checks
• Tenon’s testimony becomes central to the prosecution’s case.

2023 to 2024 – Gardner and Fernandez Under Increasing Scrutiny

• Financial tracing confirms the trust → LLC → Tenon payment pathway.
• Witness statements further support motive centered on custody and financial liberation.
• Prosecutors strengthen conspiracy charges based on digital, financial, and testimonial evidence.

2025 – Prosecution Narrative Completed

• Prosecutors designate:
• Tenon as the shooter
• Fernandez as the organizer, recruiter, and financier
• Gardner as the motive source and financial beneficiary
• Case is prepared for trial with Fernandez facing charges including first degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation, and child abuse.

Affidavit For Arrest Warrant  Source

February 16, 2022

• Detectives begin intensive investigation after Jared Bridegan’s murder the night before in Jacksonville Beach.
• Crime scene evidence confirms Bridegan was forced to stop because of a tire placed in the road.

February – March 2022

• Law enforcement gathers surveillance footage from nearby businesses and homes.
• Witness statements confirm a suspicious vehicle in the area.

Spring–Summer 2022

• Detectives trace activity surrounding possible suspects.
• Focus begins to shift toward Bridegan’s ex-wife’s circle, including Mario Fernandez, her second husband.

October 2022

• Investigators discover Henry Tenon rented a home owned by Mario Fernandez.
• The landlord–tenant connection becomes a key link in the conspiracy.

November – December 2022

• Investigators gather phone records and financial records.
• Evidence begins showing communication between Fernandez and Tenon before and after the murder.

January 25, 2023

• Henry Tenon arrested: charged with second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and child abuse.
• Tenon confesses involvement in Bridegan’s ambush.
• He admits Fernandez solicited and conspired with him to carry out the crime.

Early February 2023

• Tenon agrees to cooperate with investigators.
• Provides detailed information on planning, communications, and Fernandez’s role.

March 16, 2023

• Mario Fernandez arrested in Orlando.
• Charges filed:
• First-degree murder
• Conspiracy to commit murder
• Solicitation to commit a capital felony
• Child abuse
• Affidavit outlines Fernandez as the planner and organizer, with Tenon as the gunman.

Timeline: Affidavit for Arrest of Mario Fernandez  Source

February 15, 2022

• Jared Bridegan is ambushed and shot multiple times in front of his 2-year-old daughter in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
• A tire was deliberately placed in the road to lure him out of his vehicle.

March 2022 – April 2022

• Detectives collect surveillance video, witness accounts, and analyze Bridegan’s phone data.
• Investigation establishes the murder was a targeted ambush.

October 2022

• Investigators learn that Henry Tenon rented a home owned by Mario Fernandez, the second husband of Bridegan’s ex-wife, Shanna Gardner.

January 25, 2023

• Henry Tenon is arrested and charged with second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and child abuse.
• He later admits his involvement and implicates Mario Fernandez as a co-conspirator.

March 16, 2023

• Arrest warrant issued for Mario Fernandez.
• Fernandez is taken into custody in Orlando, Florida.
• He is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony, and child abuse .

Per arrest warrant:

• bank records showed three handwritten checks that Fernandez wrote to Tenon.

Phone records between Tenon and Fernandez:

• 35 phone contacts in February,
• 30 contacts in March
• 9 contacts in May and June, 2022.

State Attorney Melissa Nelson said a Fourth Circuit Grand Jury returned the following indictments against Fernandez Saldana:

• First-degree murder: Punishable by death or mandatory sentence of life in prison
• Conspiracy to commit first-degree murder: Punishable by up to 30 years in prison
• Solicitation to commit a capital felony: Punishable by up to 30 years in prison
• Child abuse: This charge stems from the fact that Bridegan’s then-2-year-old daughter Bexley was directly in harm’s way during the shooting.

The totality of evidence establishes that Fernandez Saldana was a principal to Bridegan’s murder and that Fernandez Saldana solicited, conspired with, and assisted others involved in Bridegan’s murder, and that the circumstances of the murder reasonably could have been expected to cause physical or mental injury to B.B. while she was in Bridegan’s vehicle.