Video of police officers as they entered the residence of Shanna Gardner-Fernandez was obtained by Fox News, which shows her arrest before her 12-year-old twins. Her mother appeared visibly upset in the video.
Gardner-Fernandez, 35, was arrested in West Richland, Washington, August 17 on an arrest warrant for the fatal shooting of ex-husband Jared Bridegan, according to a Fox News report.
Bridegan, a Microsoft executive, was murdered February 16, 2022, in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, the report noted.
ATF agents may be heard announcing, “Warrant! Police!” in the footage of his ex-wife’s arrest.
The scene shows Gardner-Fernandez handcuffed inside her $1 million residence while her mother, Shelli Gardner, may be seen weeping outside the front door.
Gardner owns the successful papercraft company Stampin’ Up! and has reportedly provided significant financial support for her daughter throughout her adult life.
Her support includes providing her daughter a monthly stipend and purchasing the West Richland property for her last year.
Court documents reveal that in May, Gardner sought to become the conservator for the twins, hinting at a possible foreknowledge of her daughter’s impending arrest.
The tragedy surrounding Bridegan’s death is profound.
He was fatally shot in front of his two-year-old daughter Bexley shortly after he dropped off the twins at Gardner-Fernandez’s residence, according to the Fox report.
He was headed to his home where he lived with his second wife, Kirsten Bridegan. Bridegan was reportedly lured from his vehicle by a tire deliberately placed in the middle of the road.
After Gardner-Fernandez and Bridegan divorced in 2015 after an alleged affair she had with a personal trainer, the two continued to have legal disputes over money and custody of their twins until Bridegan’s death.
In the body camera footage, Gardner-Fernandez appears taken aback by the arrest.
She may be seen wearing a T-shirt, pajama shorts and no shoes. Throughout the video, she remains courteous and cooperative.
“I feel bad. Do you want me to grab this and put it in the trash?” she asks an officer, who responds, “No, we’ll get it for you.”
Bridegan’s widow expressed mixed feelings about the arrest, especially what it meant for the twins, during an interview with Fox News.
“I cannot begin to imagine what they must be feeling and thinking,” Kirsten Bridegan said. “They lost their dad a year and a half ago to cold-blooded murder, and now they’ve witnessed their mother’s arrest.”
“I wish with everything that we could be there to support them and to give them the love that their father would want to give them at this moment.”
Gardner-Fernandez was transported to the local police station in West Richland for processing before being sent to the Benton County Jail.
Additional charges have been brought against Gardner-Fernandez’s current husband, Mario Fernandez, and his former tenant, Henry Tenon, whom Fox reported was identified as the shooter in Bridegan’s murder.
Melissa Nelson, the state attorney for Jacksonville’s Fourth Judicial District, has announced her office is pursuing the death penalty against both Gardner-Fernandez and her husband.
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