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The man accused of being the shooter in a murder-for-hire plot targeting Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan in 2022 is now attempting to retract his guilty plea. He claims that his testimony implicating Bridegan’s ex-wife and her second husband is untrue.
Henry Tenon, who faced charges in January 2023 of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, accessory after the fact, and child abuse, was accused of ambushing Bridegan in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, on February 16, 2022, according to a report by WJXT. He initially pleaded guilty to the murder charge in return for agreeing to testify against Bridegan’s ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, and her estranged husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana.
In January 2025, Tenon first claimed that his testimony against Gardner and Fernandez Saldana was inaccurate when he sought to change his legal representation. Court records now reveal that he has formally requested permission from the court to withdraw his guilty plea before the sentencing phase.
Gardner and Fernandez Saldana have been formally charged with first-degree murder and other offenses. Jury selection for their trial is scheduled to commence on August 10.
On the day of the incident, Bridegan encountered a tire with a rim on the road while returning to his home in St. Augustine after leaving his twin 9-year-olds at Gardner’s house, as previously reported by CrimeOnline. Authorities allege that he stopped to inspect the obstruction when he was shot by the alleged assailant. The incident occurred in front of his 2-year-old daughter, Bexley, who remained in the vehicle for several minutes while her father lay bleeding on the road.
“That tire was purposely placed there to make him stop,” State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial District Melissa Nelson said during a press conference in January. “The toddler remained strapped in the car seat in the back.”
Gardner and Fernandez allegedly offered $150,000 to Fernandez-Saldana’s former tenant, Henry Tenon, to kill Bridegan, investigators said at a bond hearing for Gardner in 2024.
A $5,000 check dated April 4, 2022, was allegedly sent from the defendant to Tenon that read “Kickstarter” and “Good luck!,” according to Jacksonville Beach Police Department Detective Chris Johns, who testified at the hearing.
According to WJXT, the State Attorney’s Office declined comment on Tenon’s motion to withdraw his plea, saying it “would defer comment to next week’s court hearing on the matter.”