JACKSONVILLE, FLA – The woman accused of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot to kill her ex-husband is back in Duval County.
Shanna Gardner was booked into the Duval County Jail late Friday night after being extradited from Washington State.
Among her charges is first-degree murder in the death of her ex-husband- Jared Bridegan.
Gardner is set to make her first appearance Saturday at 1 p.m.
According to jail records, Gardner was booked into the Duval County jail just before 10:30 p.m. Friday.
That officially ends a long extradition-saga.
On Thursday, Gardner had a court hearing while in custody of the Benton County Jail in Washington State. That is where she had been in custody since being arrested at her family’s home in August.
Garnder fought extradition since then before officially waiving it on Thursday. That cleared the way for her to be transferred to Duval County. That process started early Friday morning.
Prosecutors say Gardner played a “key and central” role in a murder-for-hire scheme to kill Bridegan.
Gardner is charged with first-degree murder, solicitation to commit first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and child abuse.
Her current husband, 34-year-old Mario Fernandez, faces the same charges.
Prosecutors say phone and bank records show Fernandez hired his former tenant,
Henry Tenon, to ambush and kill Bridegan in February 2022.
Tenon has admitted to pulling the trigger and agreed to testify against the couple.
The murder received national attention in 2022 when Bridegan was gunned down while trying to move a tire blocking the road on his way home from his ex-wife’s house after dropping off their twins. The shooting took place two miles from Gardner’s home. Police said it was a targeted, cold-blooded attack.
Garnder’s indictment says she may have conspired to kill her ex as far back as 2015.
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