JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Shanna Gardner and her estranged husband, Mario Fernandez, were back in court Friday morning for another hearing ahead of their murder trial.
The two are charged in what prosecutors say was a murder-for-hire plot in the death of Gardner’s ex-husband, 33-year-old Jared Bridegan, in early 2022.
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Bridegan was ambushed, shot, and killed minutes after dropping off the twins he shared with Gardner.
Prosecutor Christina Scheffler told Judge London Kite that an FDLE agent is willing to do a taint review of Gardner and Fernandez’s devices and of jail calls from Washington State, where Gardner was first arrested.
Depositions are currently scheduled for June 20 and 21. The next pre-trial hearing for the pair will be June 25.
Two of Gardner’s attorneys and the prosecutors spoke for several hours during a bond hearing two weeks ago, presenting evidence that until that point, had not been shared in court.
Prosecutors shared text messages that they say showed that Gardner was looking for a hitman years before Bridegan’s murder.
Testimony during the bond hearing also revealed that Gardner repeatedly wished Bridegan would disappear, or someone would make him disappear.
The attorneys for Gardner were trying to convince Kite to set a bond and release her as she awaits trial for her alleged role in Bridegan’s murder.
Kite later denied that motion, saying that keeping Gardner in jail is a way for the state to know exactly where she is and who she is communicating with.
MORE: Judge denies motion to disqualify State Attorney’s Office in Jared Bridegan case; some evidence thrown out | Murder-for-hire plot included practice run along Jared Bridegan’s normal route home: prosecutors | How investigators quickly keyed in on Jared Bridegan’s ex-wife, her husband following ambush murder in Jax Beach
In her decision, Kite said the evidence showed Gardner could be a flight risk and could interfere with the integrity of the judicial process because she has contacted at least one participating witness. She also wrote that Gardner has tried to get around the monitoring of her communications by using a burner phone or phones belonging to other people
Gardner and Fernandez are under indictment and facing a possible death sentence if convicted.