ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – News4JAX obtained bodycam footage on Friday from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office showing the man accused of planning Jared Bridegan’s death being arrested in March, just over a year after Bridegan was killed in an ambush shooting in Jacksonville Beach.
During the video, Mario Fernandez can be seen sitting handcuffed in the back of a pickup truck, talking with investigators. He was then placed into the back of a patrol car.
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Fernandez was also heard on bodycam footage asking the deputy his age, reminiscing about the age of beepers and having to memorize phone numbers, and laughing about his 5′0″ height and how the deputy handles tall people who have to sit in the back of patrol cars.
Fernandez faces first-degree murder, conspiracy, and child abuse charges.
Click the play button below to watch the full video of his arrest.
Fernandez, then 34, is accused of hiring Henry Tenon, then 62, to fatally shoot Bridegan — just two days after Valentine’s Day in 2022, in Jacksonville Beach. Tenon faces at least 15 years in prison.
Related: Man charged in connection to Jared Bridegan’s death faces at least 15 years: plea deal shows
State Attorney Melissa Nelson on Thursday 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, 36, was indicted Thursday morning by a grand jury in Florida and later arrested in Washington state.
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.