Expand / Collapse search
☰
Flood Warning
from SAT 2:41 PM MST until MON 8:00 AM MST, Maricopa County
4
Flood Warning
until SAT 4:00 PM MST, Maricopa County
Flood Watch
from SAT 11:00 PM MST until MON 5:00 AM MST, Eastern Cochise County below 5000 ft including Douglas/Wilcox, Upper Gila River and Aravaipa Valleys including Clifton/Safford, Southeast Pinal County including Kearny/Mammoth/Oracle, Western Pima County including Ajo/Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Dragoon/Mule/Huachuca and Santa Rita Mountains including Bisbee/Canelo Hills/Madera Canyon, Tucson Metro Area including Tucson/Green Valley/Marana/Vail, Tohono O'odham Nation including Sells, Baboquivari Mountains including Kitt Peak, Upper San Pedro River Valley including Sierra Vista/Benson, Chiricahua Mountains including Chiricahua National Monument, Galiuro and Pinaleno Mountains including Mount Graham, Santa Catalina and Rincon Mountains including Mount Lemmon/Summerhaven, White Mountains of Graham and Greenlee Counties including Hannagan Meadow, South Central Pinal County including Eloy/Picacho Peak State Park, Upper Santa Cruz River and Altar Valleys including Nogales, Northwest Plateau, Lake Havasu and Fort Mohave, North Phoenix/Glendale, Aguila Valley, Mazatzal Mountains, Tonopah Desert, Gila Bend, San Carlos, East Valley, Northwest Pinal County, Northwest Valley, Southeast Valley/Queen Creek, Globe/Miami, Deer Valley, Fountain Hills/East Mesa, Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, Buckeye/Avondale, Tonto Basin, Rio Verde/Salt River, South Mountain/Ahwatukee, Dripping Springs, Southeast Gila County, Pinal/Superstition Mountains, Scottsdale/Paradise Valley, New River Mesa, Sonoran Desert Natl Monument, West Pinal County, Superior, Cave Creek/New River, Central Phoenix, Yavapai County Mountains, Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County, Western Mogollon Rim, Coconino Plateau, Yavapai County Valleys and Basins, Oak Creek and Sycamore Canyons, Grand Canyon Country, Little Colorado River Valley in Coconino County, Marble and Glen Canyons, Northern Gila County, White Mountains, Kaibab Plateau, Eastern Mogollon Rim, Little Colorado River Valley in Apache County
Flood Watch
from SUN 12:00 AM MDT until MON 5:00 AM MST, Chinle Valley, Chuska Mountains and Defiance Plateau, Northeast Plateaus and Mesas South of Hwy 264, Black Mesa Area, Northeast Plateaus and Mesas Hwy 264 Northward

Florida man convicted in murder-for-hire plot on wife's ex-husband

By
FOX Local
Crime and Public Safety
Published August 27, 2026 5:53 PM MST
Published August 27, 2026 5:53 PM MST
article

Mario Fernandez Saldana was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2022 killing of Microsoft design manager Jared Bridegan and faces a mandatory life sentence. (Credit: Getty Images)

The Brief

    • Mario Fernandez Saldana was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2022 killing of Microsoft design manager Jared Bridegan and faces a mandatory life sentence.
    • Prosecutors said Bridegan was lured from his SUV by a tire placed in the road and shot as his 2-year-old daughter sat unharmed in the backseat.
    • Prosecutors tied the plot to Bridegan’s contentious custody dispute with ex-wife Shanna Gardner; her trial begins with jury selection Aug. 31.

A Florida man accused of arranging the fatal shooting of Microsoft design manager Jared Bridegan was convicted Wednesday in a murder-for-hire scheme prosecutors said stemmed from a prolonged child-custody dispute between Bridegan and his ex-wife.

Florida man convicted in murder-for-hire plot

Big picture view:

Mario Fernandez Saldana, 38, was found guilty of first-degree murder and solicitation to commit a capital felony  in Duval County court. Because of the first-degree murder conviction, he faces a mandatory life sentence.

Prosecutors said Fernandez Saldana arranged for Henry Tenon, a former tenant at his Jacksonville rental property, to ambush and kill Bridegan in February 2022.

Bridegan, 33, was driving in Jacksonville Beach after returning his young twins to their mother's home when he encountered a tire deliberately placed in the road. He stopped his Volkswagen Atlas and got out to move it. Prosecutors say four shots were then fired, two of which struck Bridegan. They allege Tenon was the shooter.

Bridegan's young daughter was sitting in the vehicle during the attack. She was not injured.

Police initially struggled to identify motive

Dig deeper:

The killing initially baffled investigators. Bridegan, a father of four and Microsoft design manager, had no obvious enemies, and police struggled for months to identify a motive.

Prosecutors eventually focused on the increasingly hostile relationship between Bridegan and his former wife, Shanna Gardner, over custody and parenting of their twins.

What they're saying:

"They wanted a majority of the decision making. They wanted more custody, even 60-40," Assistant State Attorney Christina Stifler said during closing arguments on Tuesday.

"It doesn’t matter if they were completely right about the situation or completely wrong. What matters is how they fixed it," Stifler said. "They fixed it by executing a man when they had other alternatives available to them. That’s why we’re here."

RELATED: North Carolina doctor accused of shooting 2 sisters in alleged interstate road rage attack

Investigators later identified Tenon's DNA on the rim of the tire that had been placed in the road, authorities said.

Jurors also saw three checks totaling $10,000 written to Tenon after the homicide. The memos referenced handyman work and a business idea, including one that read, "good luck!!"

What's next:

Gardner’s trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection Aug. 31. Tenon’s trial is scheduled for 2027. Fernandez Saldana and Gardner are estranged.

The Source: This story was reported from Los Angeles. The Associated Press contributed.

Crime and Public SafetyU.S.NewsFlorida