Landlord is accused of hiring tenant to kill his wife’s ex-husband in Florida, police say

A man is being held without bond on Friday after detectives accused him of hiring a man to kill his wife’s ex-husband, a father of four, who died nearby just two days after Valentine’s Day last year his daughter was shot.

Mario Fernandez, 34, is accused of hiring Henry Tenon to kill Jared Bridegan, 33, a Microsoft executive who was married to his wife Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, prosecutors say.

Bridegan, who lived in St. Augustine, had just dropped off his 9-year-old twin son and daughter at Gardner’s in Jacksonville Beach and he was in the car with his 2-year-old daughter from his second marriage when Tenon , 62, shot and killed him. said the police.

Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul N. Smith described the killing as a “planned and deliberate ambush” when announcing Tenon’s arrest in January.

On Thursday, Tenon pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with a gun under a plea agreement that prosecutors say includes testifying against Fernandez.

Federal agents and lawmakers arrested Fernandez Thursday in Orange County. He faces charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation of a felony, and child molestation in Duval County.