MS personal care employee guilty of abuse for injuring disabled man in dragging incident

A former employee at Brandi’s Hope Community Services in Pascagoula pleaded guilty Monday to felonious abuse of a vulnerable adult for causing abrasions and bruising to a disabled resident.

As part of the plea, Breonca Kreshae Holmes, 33, admitted she played a part in the injuries of a disabled patient in her care and that of another former employee by allegedly dragging the victim across concrete or gravel to get him to comply.

Holmes entered the plea before Judge Kathy King Jackson in Circuit Court in Jackson County.

Special Assistant Attorney General Tonya Blair showed her pictures of the patients’ injuries after the incident in January 2022 and asked if she recalled causing those injuries along with a co-defendant.

Her attorney said her client felt like other vulnerable patients trying to help get the patient to comply with the demands at the time may have caused some of the injuries.

Either way, Holmes admitted to her role in the abuse.

After Holmes had pleaded guilty, the judge sentenced her to 10 years in prison, suspended orders for her to spend any of that time in prison, and ordered her to serve five years on probation.

The judge fined her $2,500 and ordered her to pay $500 to the attorney general’s office for investigative costs and $250 to the crime victims compensation fund. In addition, the judge issued an order that prevented Holmes from working again in any capacity as a personal care assistant or other job where she would be involved in the care of people with disabilities.

A grand jury indicted Holmes and former employee Donnie Marie Johnson on one count of felony abuse of a vulnerable adult. The case against Johnson is pending.