JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The admitted gunman in the Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire case has a new attorney, according to court records.
The records show that on July 1, Henry Tenon’s public defender, Alan Chipperfield, filed a certificate of conflict, selecting the reason for the conflict as miscellaneous.
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The Office of Regional Conflict Counsel stepped in to represent Tenon.
The judge approved the switch at a court hearing on Monday.
Tenon previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and agreed to testify against Bridegan’s ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, and her estranged husband, Mario Fernandez. But in January, Tenon changed his tune, stating that his testimony was false and requesting a new attorney.
Legal expert Gene Nichols explained what these changes could mean for the case.
Watch the full interview below:
“There could be multiple possibilities,” Nichols said. “We know that Henry Tenon had come before the court a couple of months ago and said that he had something different to say to the court. Everything suggested that he was going to suggest to the court that he either wanted to withdraw his plea, or he did not tell the truth, or something to that extent.”
Nichols said that since Tenon wanted to withdraw his plea, Chipperfield would not be able to represent him.
“Remember, Mr. Chipperfield stood there, signed the paperwork with him, and they entered the plea together. So for Henry Tenon to have a chance to withdraw his plea, he’s gotta get a different lawyer,” he explained.
If Tenon does withdraw his plea, Nichols said the state would still have a case to move forward with.
“The state will immediately come out and say, we have plenty of evidence to convict all three of them without Henry Tenon,” he said. “The defense side of this is going to argue that this the reason why we got to this point in the first place was because of Henry Tenon, and now you can’t trust Henry Tenon if he’s going to say he lied about something.”
News4JAX requested additional court documents that would give more details behind Chipperfield’s withdrawal.