JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Court TV) — The man accused of being the triggerman in a murder-for-hire plot that killed a Microsoft executive has asked for some of his statements to prosecutors to be suppressed ahead of trial.
Henry Tenon appears in court to change his plea to “not guilty” in the murder of Jared Bridegan. (WJAX)
Henry Tenon is charged with second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, accessory after the fact and child abuse in the death of Jared Bridegan. Bridegan was shot and killed in 2022 while driving home with his youngest child after seeing a tire in the middle of the road and stopping to move it.
Tenon initially confessed to his alleged role in the plot and told prosecutors that he had been hired by Bridegan’s ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, and her current husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, who were his landlords.
But in 2025, Tenon announced at a hearing that he had given “false testimony” in sworn statements against the other defendants and wished to change his story. On Feb. 17, 2026, Judge London Kite allowed Tenon to change his plea to not guilty.
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When Tenon initially confessed, he had done so as part of a plea agreement he had reached with prosecutors; under the terms of that deal, he would have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and been sentenced to 15 years to life after testifying against Gardner and Fernandez Saldana.
Now, Tenon’s attorneys have filed a motion asking that all statements the defendant made to prosecutors as part of plea negotiations be suppressed and not introduced at his trial.
Tenon’s change of plea had a big impact on the prosecution’s case against Gardner and Fernandez Saldana; shortly after Tenon’s in-court statement that he had lied, the state filed paperwork withdrawing its intention to seek the death penalty against the couple.
No trial date has been set for Tenon. Gardner and Fernandez Saldana’s trial is scheduled to begin in August.
