Fernandez Saldana is the first of the three defendants in the case to stand trial, First Coast News reported. A jury has found Mario Fernandez Saldana guilty of first-degree murder and solicitation to commit a capital felony in the shooting death of St. Augustine father of four Jared Bridegan in Jacksonville Beach.
She is set to go on trial in September. Gardner, 39, moved to Washington in the wake of the murder. She was arrested in the state in August 2023, and has pleaded not guilty.
However, defense attorney Jesse Dreicer argued that Fernandez Saldana had no motive.
All the evidence combined suggested that Fernandez Saldana was involved in the murder-for-hire plot, which followed “years of animosity” and a “high-conflict” custody dispute over Bridegan and Gardner’s twins, according to Assistant State Attorney Christina Stifler. “Mario Fernandez had no motive, he had no desire, he had no reason and he certainly gained no benefit from the death of Jared Bridegan,” Dreicer said during his closing argument.
He will be back in court on October 5 at 9 am to receive a sentencing date. Since first-degree murder in Florida is a capital felony, it carries a mandatory life sentence or prosecutors can also seek the death penalty. However, the state has not opted for the death penalty in Fernandez Saldana’s case, so he is set to receive life in prison.
