JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – State Attorney Melissa Nelson announced the indictment of Jared Bridegan’s ex-wife on first-degree murder charges in the conspiracy that led to his ambush shooting last year.
Shanna Gardner was indicted Thursday morning by a grand jury in Florida and later arrested in Washington state.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents arrested her in West Richland, Washington, where she moved with the twins she shared with Bridegan. ATF’s Jacksonville field office had been assisting Jacksonville Beach Police Department detectives since early in the investigation.
Gardner will be extradited to Duval County to face the charges which also include solicitation to commit first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and child abuse.
“We promised at the outset of this investigation we would not relent until we uncovered the truth of Jared’s murder, the whole and entire truth,” State Attorney Melissa Nelson said during a Thursday afternoon news conference. Jacksonville Beach’s police chief, Gene Paul Smith, and detectives stood by Nelson’s side.
Nelson said prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.
Click the play button below to hear the full announcement.
The murder of the father of four received national attention in 2022 when Bridegan, 33, was gunned down while trying to move a tire blocking the road. Police said it was a targeted, cold-blooded attack.
Bridegan was shot several times at close range around 8 p.m. Feb. 16, 2022, with his then-2 1/2-year-old-year-old daughter Bexley in the backseat of his SUV near the Sanctuary neighborhood in south Jacksonville Beach. The girl was not injured.
“For 547 days, we hoped and prayed that this day would come,” widow Kirsten Bridegan said following the announcement of the arrest. “Shanna’s arrest ends one horrific chapter of our pursuit for justice for Jared and now we opened a new one. This next chapter will be excruciating. We are confident in the ability of the State’s Attorney’s Office and law enforcement to bring truth to light we expect to see justice carried out to the fullest extent of the law.”
“There’s a pain in our hearts that will never go away,” Bridegan’s brother, Adam Bridegan, said. “Your parents miss you, your wife misses you, your children miss you.”
Related: Man accused of orchestrating Jared Bridegan’s murder appears briefly in court
Mario Fernandez, 34, who is married to Bridegan’s ex-wife, was arrested in March of this year and is accused of orchestrating the murder conspiracy that ended with Bridegan’s death. Fernandez faces charges of first-degree murder with a weapon, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child abuse.
His indictment said he plotted the murder within the four months leading to Bridgegan’s death, but Garnder’s indictment said she may have been scheming to kill Bridegan as early as May 2015 a few months before their divorce was finalized.
Fernandez pleaded not guilty to the charges against him when he was arraigned in July, and prosecutors have said they are not offering him a plea deal in the case. Nelson said she also plans to pursue the death penalty in Fernandez’s case.
According to his indictment, Fernandez wrote three checks to the confessed gunman, Henry Tenon. Fernandez had been Tenon’s landlord, and investigators say phone records revealed more than 70 calls between the men before and after Bridegan’s murder.
Tenon pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for fatally shooting Bridegan and has agreed to testify against Fernandez and anyone else who might be charged. Tenon faces a minimum of 15 years in prison as part of the plea agreement.
“Henry Tenon did not act alone. Mario Fernandez did not plan alone. And Shanna Gardner’s indictment acknowledges her central and key role in the cold, calculated and premeditated murder of Jared Bridegan,” Nelson said.
News4JAX reached out to Hank Coxe, the Jacksonville-based attorney representing Shanna Gardner, for comment. “My position remains the same - I do not comment publicly about pending matters.”
An attorney for her parents, Shelli and Sterling Gardner, released a statement on their behalf.
“Words cannot accurately express the depth of our sadness. Family is our top priority. We love our daughter and are focused on supporting her and our entire family as we help our grandchildren navigate this difficult and very confusing time. For their sake and all involved, we caution against further speculation and request privacy as the legal process runs its course. In the meantime, we are thankful for the continued support, thoughtfulness and prayers being so generously shared by friends and loved ones.”