Editor’s Note: The JCPD originally spelled Breanna Marie Fleenor’s name as Brianna, which is incorrect. The name has since been updated to reflect the correct spelling.
BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) — Bristol, Virginia Police Department’s Det. Lt. Steve Crawford told News Channel 11 that one of three inmates who escaped a Johnson City work detail is also wanted in Bristol in connection to a June 2021 shooting.
Crawford detailed that Breanna Marie Fleenor, 30, is accused of shooting a man in the shoulder as he sat in his car at the Eastridge Apartment Complex. Crawford added that the man also suffered from “a grazing wound to the head.”
The shooting, according to Crawford, followed after Fleenor and the man had a verbal dispute regarding property. The man has since recovered from the June 24, 2021 incident that occurred between midnight and 1 a.m.
The BVPD still has two warrants out for Fleenor’s arrest, including malicious wounding and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Crawford said Fleenor was pulled over across the state line, which resulted in her incarceration in Tennessee due to other outstanding warrants in Bristol, Tennessee. News Channel 11 has requested those charges from the Bristol, Tennessee Police Department and awaits a response.
According to the Johnson City Police Department (JCPD), Fleenor was incarcerated in Johnson City due to selling methamphetamine.
Crawford said, in his experience, individuals facing violent felony charges like Fleenor are not typically on work detail.
“I haven’t seen that, no,” Crawford said. “If the charge is violent, you certainly don’t want them out there.”
According to JCPD Maj. Brian Rice, the inmates were not watched by officers during the work detail.
“They were doing custodial work at Freedom Hall under the custody patrol of civilian employees at Freedom Hall,” Rice said.
When asked about Fleenor’s charges, the detective said he did not know about them.
A city spokesperson said information on charges is shared between agencies online through the National Crime Information Center.
Crawford said information can get muddy from state to state.
“We rely on only the information we have. We don’t always have — we have somebody incarcerated, we don’t exactly know what’s in other states, and that can be an issue,” Crawford said.
Fleenor is one of the three inmates for whom multiple agencies continue to search. She is described by the JCPD as having brown hair and hazel eyes and was last seen wearing a gray shirt, blue jeans, black sweatshirt and brown boots.
She has also faced several drug charges out of Bristol, Tennessee and Sullivan County.
JCPD identified the other escaped inmates as Mary Elizabeth Dunn, 33, and Kayla Danielle Pierson. Dunn has brown hair and hazel eyes and was last seen in a gray sweatshirt and blue jeans. Pierson has red hair and blue eyes and may be wearing a black shirt, blue jeans and gray boots.
The trio escaped when Nathan Adams, 28, of Bristol, Virginia, reportedly picked them up and drove them to an undisclosed location. Crawford told News Channel 11 that the BVPD has checked three locations in Bristol, Virginia following the escape due to Adams’ ties to the area.
Adams has since been arrested and is in the Washington County Detention Center on a $30,000 bond for three counts of facilitating escape. His arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 24 at 1:30 p.m.
Anyone with information regarding the three inmates’ whereabouts is urged to call the JCPD’s Criminal Investigation Division at 423-434-6166. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 423-434-6158.
