JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Prosecutors in the Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire trial have scathingly hit back against a defense attorney's claims from a June hearing and press conference suggesting foul play in the case.
In a motion filed Thursday, Prosecutors said the defense team of Shanna Gardner's motion to release Gardner on bond for failing to disclose evidence is "without merit" and they ask the court to deny it.
They wrote Baez failed to provide specific statements that the state "was obligated, but failed, to disclose" from an interview between prosecutors, detectives and Gardner's close friend, Kim Jensen.
The state argues in the motion that Gardner's team has been aware of "Jensen's opinions regarding the context of these messages" since discovery was provided by the state in November 2023. Prosecutors said Gardner received Jensen's grand jury testimony in January 2024 and the defense team could have called Jensen during the bond-related Arthur hearing but did not.
Gardner is accused of plotting to kill her ex-husband, Bridegan, with the help of her second husband Mario Fernandez-Saldana and Henry Tenon. Police say Tenon placed a tire on Sanctuary Boulevard, causing Bridegan to stop with his young daughter in the car, before he fired several times at close range killing Bridegan. Tenon has pleaded guilty to 2nd degree murder in the death of Jared Bridegan.
In front of the courthouse last month, Baez, claimed the state failed to disclose evidence and Gardner should be released, insisting the state was culpable for "outright foul play." In Thursday's filing, the state criticized Jose Baez's claims at a June press conference as "self-serving" and chided him for "theatrics."
Baez also accused the lead detective from the Jacksonville Beach Police Department on the case of lying under oath during Gardner's bond hearing May 15.
Jacksonville Detective Chris Johns testified during Gardner's bond hearing and spoke about text messages viewed from Gardner's phone between Gardner and Jensen in which a hitman was discussed and another woman, Susan Lee, was mentioned. At the hearing, Johns said he had not spoken with Lee and Gardner's attorneys say Lee later claimed she had.
The state said Johns "clearly could not recall the details of law enforcement contact with Lee and explained he did not have the casefile or reports with him." The state says Johns will be impeached during any future testimony if his recollection was mistaken.
The exchange from the bond hearing went as follows:
Baez: "You never spoke to Susan Lee did you?"
Johns: "I believe one of my colleagues did."
Baez: "Are you aware there are no interviews or statements in the discovery having to deal with law enforcement speaking to Susan Lee?"
Johns: "No."
Baez: "So you are the lead detective in this case and you have text messages where they are allegedly looking for a hitman and they are texting someone. You have it right there in black and white that they are texting a potential suitor for this hitman and you never go and talk to the person who is the alleged person who they went to go looking for a hitman?"
Johns: "I believe at the time we were trying to locate her, her phone number had changed and we did not have a good address for her so we were not able to contact her at the time during the messages."
Baez: "Just a minute ago you said one of your fellow officers interviewed her, so now you can't find her."
Baez said he was contacted by a lawyer for Susan Lee after that bond hearing who said she did speak directly with Detective Johns, and that her phone number had not changed since 2014.
Baez also questioned why a meeting between prosecutors, two detectives and a witness in the case, Jensen, was not recorded and there are reports are unavailable. Baez said that Jensen also contacted his team to say her statements were misrepresented and that favorable statements were omitted.
"These things require them to answer to and the only way to do it is by exposing them and having full transparency," Baez said on the courthouse steps in June.
In June, the State Attorney's called the allegations "spurious" and that it would "continue to abide by the ethical standards that govern all Florida attorneys regarding trial publicity."
Gardner's next court date is Aug. 16, where Judge London Kite will hear arguments on the motion.
