DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. — In a move he says he rarely makes, defense attorney Jose Baez gathered the media Friday to accuse the state attorneys office of "outright foul play" in the alleged "murder-for-hire" case against Shanna Gardner.
Gardner, 37, is being held on first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder charges after the death of her ex-husband Jared Bridegan, in what police say was an elaborate scheme. Gardner faces the death penalty in this case and has been denied bond while awaiting her trial.
Baez said State Attorney Melissa Nelson and her office have transcended from "poor judgement" to "outright foul play" and accused a Jacksonville Beach Police Department detective of lying under oath during Gardner's bond hearing May 15.
Baez said he will be filing a motion with the court Friday that accuses the prosecution of withholding evidence from the defense and accusing lead Detective Chris Johns of lying under oath.
"These things require them to answer to and the only way to do it is by exposing them and having full transparency," Baez said.
Johns testified during Gardner's bond hearing and spoke about text messages viewed from Gardner's phone between Gardner and her close friend Kim Jensen in which a hitman was discussed and another woman, Susan Lee, was mentioned.
You can view that exchange in its entirety below.
The exchange goes 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 Det. Johns, and that her phone number had not changed since 2014.
Baez also questioned why a meeting between prosecutors, two detectives and a critical witness in the case, Kim Jensen, was not recorded and there are no reports on it. Baez added that Jensen also contacted his team to say her statements were misrepresented and that favorable statements were left out.
It is up to Judge London Kite on how to proceed from here. According to Baez, Kite has a few options, including dismissing the case, dismissing the state attorney's office or give reconsideration to whether Gardner can seek bond.
David Chapman with the state attorney's office released the following statement after Baez's press conference:
“We will respond to these spurious allegations in the appropriate venue — the courtroom, not the courthouse steps. We continue to abide by the ethical standards that govern all Florida attorneys regarding trial publicity.”
Baez's motion can be viewed in full below: