Florida Trial Underway for Ambush Killing of Microsoft Manager

A Microsoft design manager was killed in a targeted ambush in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, in 2022. The shooter, Mario Fernandez Saldana, is accused of arranging the murder by hiring a gunman. According to Assistant State Attorney Christina Simak Stifler, the attack was 'a perfect crime' and it almost succeeded.

The victim, Jared Bridegan, got out of his vehicle to remove a tire that had been placed in the road while his 2-year-old daughter from a second marriage sat in her car seat. He was shot twice moments later. The killer's motives were personal, driven by a bitter relationship between Bridegan and his ex-wife Shanna Gardner over their twin children's upbringing.

Gardner had divorced Bridegan in 2015 and married Fernandez Saldana soon after. Fernandez Saldana is accused of hiring Henry Tenon to carry out the murder for $10,000. However, Tenon pleaded guilty but later withdrew his plea and will face a separate trial in 2027.