JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Attorneys for Shanna Gardner, who is accused of plotting with her new husband to have her ex-husband killed in 2022, wanted the case against her dismissed. They also asked if the case wasn’t dismissed that Gardner be released on bond.
Judge London Kite denied those requests on Monday, but ruled “without prejudice” and told the defense they could bring up the issues in their motion again if new information came to light.
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Gardner and her now estranged husband, Mario Fernandez, are under indictment for first-degree murder in the death of Gardner’s ex-husband, 33-year-old Jared Bridegan. Both face the possibility of the death penalty.
A former tenant of Fernandez, Henry Tenon, admitted to pulling the trigger in the ambush shooting in Jacksonville Beach in 2022.
Police say the father of four was gunned down while trying to move a tire that had been placed in the road as part of the ambush.
In their motion to have the case dismissed, Gardner’s attorneys argued prosecutorial misconduct, saying the state “knowingly presented false evidence that was material to the court’s denial of bond” and that Gardner’s due process rights have been violated.
READ: Motion from Gardner’s attorneys to dismiss case
The argument, which focused on a previous bond hearing, said the state falsely presented bank statements in the murder-for-hire allegation, misrepresented text messages between Gardner and others and allowed false testimony from a detective about his interactions with two witnesses.
“The Defense does not deny the tragic shooting death of the decedent by Henry Tenon. However, there is no evidence in support of Shanna Gardner’s alleged participation in the fatal shooting on February 16, 2022,” the defense argued. “Furthermore, the Defense remains steadfast that Shanna Gardner had no participation in any conspiracy to solicit the shooting death of the decedent.”
Judge Kite OK’d a motion from the defense to compel the prosecution to hand over a list of records/people it subpoenaed who are out of state.
Kite did not rule on a motion the defense filed requesting a transcript of a detective’s grand jury testimony.
The next court hearing will be Oct. 2.
Kite is asking the defense and state to agree on a jury selection date and other key dates, so they can find a final date for the trial.