JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Attorneys disputed in Duval County court Wednesday morning over whether prosecutors on the Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire case can use incriminating statements from the man who previously confessed to the murder at trial.
Bridegan, a St. Augustine father of four, was shot and killed while moving a tire out the middle of a road in Jacksonville Beach in 2022. Three people have been charged with his murder – his ex-wife Shanna Gardner and her current husband Mario Fernandez-Saldana. The third person charged, 65-year-old Henry Tenon, previously admitted to carrying out the murder, but withdrew his guilty plea in February.
In the courtroom Wednesday, Tenon’s attorney Julie Schlax argued the things Tenon said during protected plea negotiations should never be heard by a jury. Prosecutors said in response the plea agreement was already finalized when Tenon gave his sworn statement as part of his deal with the state…