JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The man accused of fatally shooting Jared Bridegan in what prosecutors describe as a murder-for-hire plot will go on trial six months after his alleged co-conspirators.
Judge London Kite set jury selection for Henry Tenon to begin on March 29, with the trial slated to begin the week after on April 5, depending on how long jury selection takes.
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Tenon initially pleaded guilty on March 16, 2023, to second‑degree murder with a weapon in the shooting death of Bridegan, a 33-year-old St. Johns County father of four.
So for nearly three years, no trial was planned for Tenon, who prosecutors say was hired to kill Bridegan by Bridegan’s ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, and her second husband, Mario Fernandez.
But when Tenon withdrew his guilty plea on Feb. 17, 2026, the state suddenly had a third trial on its hands in the case, which has garnered national attention.
Fernandez and Gardner are also charged with the killing of Bridegan, who was gunned down in an ambush while driving home with his toddler daughter. They have pleaded not guilty.
RELATED: Timeline of the Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire case
Jury selection for Fernandez is slated for Aug. 10-14, with a pool of 250 potential jurors. His trial is then scheduled for Aug. 17-28.
Gardner’s jury selection will run from Aug. 31-Sept. 4 with a pool of 500 jurors. Her trial will then run from Sept. 8-25.
Tenon’s original plea deal had required him to testify against Gardner and Fernandez, but he said when he changed his plea to not guilty that he no longer agreed to testify for the state in the case.
Tenon will be back in court on July 27. His final pre-trial hearing will be March 22.