JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Defense attorneys for a couple accused in a murder-for-hire plot that left a St. Johns County father of four dead will argue in court Thursday that the State Attorney’s Office should be barred from prosecuting their clients.
Jared Bridegan, 33, was killed in February 2022 when he was shot multiple times at close range after stopping to remove a tire from the road.
Prosecutors say the murder was the result of a conspiracy involving Bridegan’s ex-wife, Shanna Gardner and her new husband, Mario Fernandez.
Gardner and Fernandez both face charges of first-degree murder with a weapon, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child abuse (because Bridegan’s then-2-year-old daughter was present during the murder). Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for both.
Gardner’s lawyers have filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against her and both defense teams want State Attorney Melissa Nelson’s office removed from the case.
They’ll argue their points Thursday in a hearing they wanted closed to the public, but a judge denied their motions to close the hearing.
Retired Judge Robert Foster has been appointed as a special master to review contested communications at the heart of the defense’s arguments to disqualify Nelson’s office.
RELATED: Murder-for-hire plot included practice run along Jared Bridegan’s normal route home: prosecutors
Defense attorneys claim the State Attorney’s Office (SAO) unlawfully obtained privileged communications between Fernandez and Gardner, and communications protected by attorney-client privilege as evidence.
Although a so-called “taint team” was initially created to redact privileged communications, the defense claims that the SAO continued to use privileged information, such as a document titled “Confidential Communications.” The SAO insisted the document was not confidential, and the defense was denied access, according to a motion.
Gardner’s lawyers said the lead prosecutor for the 4th Judicial District joined the “taint team” formed to screen communications the intercepted communications. Their motion said the “infiltration of the taint team constitutes substantial misconduct,” and should at least lead to the 4th State Attorney’s Office being disqualified.
The defense said in a motion that the actions of the lead prosecutor are “demonstrating a clear lack of concern” for Gardner’s rights and represent “outrageous government conduct.”
Over two weeks ago, Gardner and Fernandez stood in a Duval County courtroom as attorneys argued about the inadvertent privacy breach.
Gardner’s defense said if the indictment against her is not dismissed, all of Gardner’s communications should be suppressed and the 4th SAO removed from the case.
Until the disqualification issue is resolved, the case is on hold.
Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.
