Jared Bridegan.Photo: Jacksonville Beach Police Department
An arrest was made Wednesday in the killing of Florida Microsoft ExecutiveJared Bridegan, who was gunned down in front of his two-year-old daughter nearly one year ago.
On Wednesday, authorities announced the arrest of Henry Tenon, 61, in connection with the 33-year-old father of four’s February 2022 slaying. Tenon has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, second degree murder with a weapon and accessory after the fact to a capital felony and child abuse.
“We know that Henry Tenon did not act alone,” State Attorney Melissa Nelson said during a Wednesday press conference.
Nelson also said during the press conference that Tenon’s first court appearance is scheduled for tomorrow morning where they will, “present his case to the grand jury in order to seek an indictment for first-degree murder.”
Bridegan was shotmultiple times at close rangeon Feb. 16, 2022 after he stepped out of his black Volkswagen Atlas to remove a discarded tire lying in the middle of a Jacksonville Beach road.
“He was gunned down in cold blood,” Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith said during the press conference. “This was a planned and targeted ambush and murder. The ruthless homicide has pained our community.”
“We hope to have more answers to provide to you even if it cannot be today,” Smith added.
Henry Tenon.Jacksonville Beach Police Department
“When officers got on the scene, they found the vehicle with the flashers on, and there was a tire up in front of his vehicle in the roadway,” Jacksonville Beach Police Department Sgt. Tonya Tator previously told PEOPLE.
The detective in charge “felt it was targeted because of the tire being in the road forcing someone to stop,” Tator said.
His two-year-old daughter Bexley was inside the vehicle in a car seat when he was killed. She was unharmed. Bridegan had just dropped his 10-year-old twins at his ex-wife’s house and was driving home when he was ambushed.
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Shortly after the shooting, local media picked up on the contentious custody battle between Bridegan and his ex-wife, Shanna Gardner-Fernandez. Both Bridegan and Gardner-Fernandez, who later remarried, filed several motions in court regarding the dispute.
FOX Newsreports that Gardner-Fernandez and her children recently left Florida and moved to southeastern Washington less than a year after the slaying.
source: people.com
