NASSAU COUNTY, FLORIDA, Fla. — A Jacksonville woman who pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact in helping a Nassau County cop killer escape was sentenced to three years in prison, followed by three years of probation on Monday.
Breiana Tole, 30, was given credit for 980 days served, which means she will only remain jailed for a few more months.
Tole, who was 27 at the time, helped Patrick McDowell after he murdered Nassau County Sheriff's Deputy Joshua Moyers during a traffic stop on Sept. 24, 2021.
The State Attorney's Office said Tole was in communication with McDowell while he was on the run as police searched for him in a manhunt that lasted five days. Prosecutors said she drove to Nassau County from Duval County with "intent to assist and aid McDowell with his escape."
Tole knew McDowell killed Moyers when she followed through with assisting McDowell, her arrest warrant states.
During a 2022 interview with police, Tole told investigators that McDowell was "not a bad man."
"He just wanted to get to a point where he could be with his son," she said at the time. "I have no doubt that he panicked and thought that his life was in jeopardy when he got pulled over."
McDowell shot Moyers twice - once in the face and once in the back. Moyers died from his injuries in the hospital two days later.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers from multiple agencies across Florida and Georgia assisted in the manhunt for McDowell. During the search, McDowell shot a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office K-9.
On April 25, a jury voted 11-1, recommending McDowell be put to death for killing Moyers.
Then on May 17, McDowell and his attorneys filed a motion for a life sentence. This came after he read a letter to jurors asking for the death penalty during the penalty phase of his trial.
Also on Monday, McDowell and his attorneys were back in court on a last-ditch effort to sway the judge before ultimately deciding his fate - life or death.
