Florida woman accused of helping man suspected of killing Nassau County deputy

Breiana Tole, 27, accused of helping Patrick McDowell get out of area

Breiana Tole, 27. (Copyright 2021 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.)

CALLAHAN, Fla. – A Jacksonville woman accused of helping a man suspected in the murder of a Nassau County deputy was arrested Tuesday, according to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office.

Breiana Tole, 27, is accused of driving to the sports complex west of Callahan in an attempt to help Patrick McDowell get out of the area and escape arrest, according to an arrest report. She now faces felony accessory after the fact charges, according to News 6 partner WJXT.

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At the time she was allegedly attempting to help McDowell, she knew that he was accused of killing Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers, according to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office.

McDowell was found hiding out in a bathroom building at the Kirsten Higginbotham Sports Complex on Tuesday just west of Callahan, five days after he allegedly shot Moyers.

Moyers died from his injuries on Sunday.

Tole was arrested Tuesday for an offense that took place on Ball Park Road at the address where McDowell eventually surrendered, according to the report.

According to the heavily redacted arrest report obtained by News4Jax, McDowell was in communication with Tole on Monday afternoon, but it’s not clear what he told her.

[TIMELINE: Here’s what happened leading up to arrest of man accused of killing Nassau County deputy]

Investigators were able to search Tole’s cell phone, with her written consent, but it’s also not clear what they found on it due to redactions in the arrest report.

The Sheriff’s Office told News4Jax that Tole was not the woman in the van with McDowell the night he allegedly shot Moyers twice during a traffic stop.

Tole is being held in the Nassau County Jail on a $1 million bond.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Sheriff Bill Leeper seemed to indicate there may be more than one person that was helping McDowell.

“We are in the process of making other arrests to determine who helped [McDowell]. There were some people who were helping him. And we’ve got one at least in custody, there may be some more, we don’t know yet but we’ll continue to investigate,” Leeper said.


About the Author

Corley Peel is a Texas native and Texas Tech graduate who covered big stories in Joplin, Missouri, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Jacksonville, Florida before returning to the Lone Star State. When not reporting, Corley enjoys hot yoga, Tech Football, and finding the best tacos in town.

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