TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Authorities investigating the killing of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan are reportedly preparing to make an arrest in the case nearly a year after the shocking murder, according to First Coast News.
Jared Bridegan, 33, was ambushed and shot to death on the side of a road in Jacksonville Beach. The father of four had just dropped his 10-year-old twins at his ex-wife’s home and was on his way home to St. Augustine with his 2-year-old daughter Bexley.
Police said he stopped on the side of the road to pick up a tire that was left in the middle of the roadway and was ambushed and shot in front of his child. Investigators suspect the tire was planted in the road to draw Bridegan into the ambush. They asked the public to be on the lookout for a blue Ford F-150 pickup truck that was seen in the area around the time of the murder.
Bridegan shared Bexley and another child with his wife, Kirsten, and the twins with his ex-wife, Shanna Gardner-Fernandez.
Gardner-Fernandez, 35, and Bridegan divorced in 2016.
In a June 2022 interview with the Florida Times-Union, Gardner-Fernandez addressed rumors that she asked a tattoo parlor employee in 2015 if he knew anyone who would “shut … up” her ex-husband. She admitted to making the statement, but denied wanting to harm her ex-husband, saying that people say these things during “bitter” divorces.
“Our relationship was pretty complicated and remained pretty complicated,” she said.
Law enforcement sources close to the investigation confirmed to First Coast that they are prepared to make an arrest and to announce a break in the case as soon as Wednesday.
No other information was immediately available.
Police had offered a $55,000 reward for information about the case. Those with tips were asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS (8477) or the Jacksonville Beach Police Department at 904-270-1667.