Father's Roadside Ambush Returns to Court With New Evidence

Four Years Later, the Roadside Ambush Is Before a Jury

More than four years after father of four Jared Bridegan was killed beside a Florida road while his 2-year-old daughter remained in his vehicle, a jury is hearing the evidence prosecutors say connects Mario Fernandez Saldana to an alleged murder-for-hire plot.

Fernandez Saldana is on trial in Duval County on charges including first-degree murder and solicitation to commit a capital felony in Bridegan’s February 16, 2022, death. He has pleaded not guilty and denies arranging the killing.

The case has always carried a painful human detail beyond the allegations of conspiracy: Bridegan’s toddler daughter was inside the SUV when her father was attacked.

Prosecutors Say a Tire Was Used as a Trap

Bridegan, 33, was driving home after dropping off the twin children he shared with his former wife when he encountered a tire blocking a dark Jacksonville Beach road.

Prosecutors allege the tire had been deliberately placed there to force him out of his Volkswagen Atlas.

When Bridegan stopped to move it, he was killed.

His 2-year-old daughter, Bexley, remained in the vehicle. News4JAX reported that a witness later described finding the child frightened after the attack and trying to comfort her until authorities arrived.

That child’s presence has remained one of the most difficult details in a case built around accusations of an elaborate plan.

Investigators Walked Jurors Through Phone Records

This week, much of the courtroom attention turned to digital evidence.

An FBI analyst testified about cellphone records for Fernandez Saldana and Henry Tenon, the man prosecutors accuse of carrying out the shooting. Investigators say those records formed part of the evidence that eventually led them to Fernandez Saldana.

The testimony was not uncontested.

Defense attorneys emphasized limitations in cellphone tracking and questioned gaps in Fernandez Saldana’s records on the night Bridegan died.

The FBI analyst acknowledged that a period without cellular data could have several explanations and did not by itself establish where Fernandez Saldana was during that time.

That distinction is important because the prosecution must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Defense Says the Evidence Does Not Prove a Plot

Prosecutors allege Fernandez Saldana helped arrange Bridegan’s killing and connected the alleged gunman to the victim.

The defense argues investigators do not have direct physical evidence placing Fernandez Saldana at the murder scene or proving that payments to Tenon were made for a killing.

News4JAX reported that investigators acknowledged Fernandez Saldana’s DNA was not found on the physical items tested from the scene and that there was no surveillance evidence placing him inside Tenon’s vehicle that night.

The defense has also argued that financial transactions between the two men reflected legitimate work performed on rental property.

Prosecutors dispute that broader explanation and say the evidence, viewed together, points to a planned ambush.

A Bitter Family History Sits Behind the Allegations

The prosecution has also presented evidence about longstanding conflict between Bridegan and his former wife, Shanna Gardner, over parenting their twins.

Fernandez Saldana was Gardner’s husband at the time of Bridegan’s death.

Prosecutors allege Gardner and Fernandez Saldana were involved in arranging Bridegan’s killing. Gardner faces a separate trial, and the accusations against her likewise remain unproven.

Tenon is also facing separate proceedings after withdrawing an earlier guilty plea.

For Bridegan’s widow and children, those procedural divisions do not change the central loss.

The Jury Must Decide What the Evidence Adds Up To

The current trial is scheduled to continue through late August.

Jurors are being asked to weigh phone records, financial evidence, investigative testimony and the defense’s argument that none of those pieces proves Fernandez Saldana arranged a murder.

The case began on a roadway with an ordinary-looking object blocking a father’s path.

Years later, that tire, the digital trail investigators followed and the relationships surrounding Bridegan are all being examined inside a courtroom.

Behind every exhibit remains the fact that Bridegan’s young daughter was there when her father was killed - a child caught in the middle of an alleged plot she could not possibly understand.

References: Jared Bridegan Murder Trial: Key Developments in the Case Against Mario Fernandez Saldana | Mario Fernandez’s Attorneys Question FBI Analyst Who Tracked Cellphones From Night of Jared Bridegan’s Murder

The Truth In Facts team was assisted by generative AI technology in creating this content