Mario Fernandez-Saldana is accused as co-conspirator in the February 2022 murder-for-hire killing of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan in Jacksonville, Florida. Bridegan was shot multiple times on a dark roadside after dropping his daughter home following a custody exchange — the couple's youngest child was in the car and witnessed the attack.
Prosecutors allege Fernandez-Saldana, then in a relationship with Bridegan's ex-wife Shanna Gardner, arranged and financed the killing. He is being tried separately from Gardner after their joint trial arrangement collapsed when alleged gunman Henry Tenon withdrew his plea agreement.
Fernandez-Saldana's trial, with a jury pool of approximately 250 potential jurors, is scheduled to begin 17 August 2026.
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