NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It was something NewsChannel 5 Legal Analyst Nick Leonardo had only seen one other time in his long career as an attorney.
A six-judge panel heard arguments Thursday from representatives of Brooke’s Bail Bonding and On Time Bonding, but this wasn’t your normal court hearing. The more than four-hour marathon featured testimony from several people who faced questions from both attorneys and the panel of judges over the timeline of Bricen Rivers' release.
“It was something that you don’t normally see in a method you don’t normally see it,” Leonardo said.
Thursday was the first time we heard from agents of both bond companies on why they allowed Rivers to leave the county before he later became a murder suspect in Mississippi.
Rivers had just bonded out of jail on charges of allegedly beating up his ex-girlfriend Lauren Johansen when the pair were visiting Nashville last December.
Rivers’ bond conditions clearly stated he was to stay in Davidson County and away from Johansen, but bonding agents testified they only learned of these conditions days after his release.
One agent said she never saw the first page of these bond conditions when she signed the order on behalf of Brooke’s Bail Bonding.
“Typically, when a bonding company comes into court, they have a lawyer with them, the defendant has a lawyer, and the district attorney is present. Even though you may not have directly seen the first page, I would’ve thought that there would’ve been discussion about what these conditions were,” Leonardo said.
Rivers told bonding agents he was leaving for Mississippi, and without the bond conditions, agents said they had no reason to stop him.
Judges pressed the agent on if she had signed a document — like the order. She replied that she was new, but an attorney explained that she would get a copy as soon as possible.
Leonardo says he understood the frustration of judges who questioned why agents would "put on blinders" when signing a paper they didn't understand. Still, he says it's one area where the courts need to ensure these conditions are unequivocally understood between all parties.
Bonding agents had their own interpretations of what they knew and when, but almost all said they had no idea who to contact if Rivers violated his bond.
We heard from one agent who said she alerted Rivers’ attorney but wasn’t sure who else to contact.
“There is some legitimacy to what’s being said because every court does it in their way, but this order said if there’s a violation of the condition you are to surrender that defendant. You could take him down to the bond office, you could take him to warrants or take him into the courtroom,” Leonardo said.
By all accounts, Nakeda Wilhoite was the last of these agents to see Rivers on June 29.
Wilhoite, who also runs Freedom Monitoring, says she asked Rivers to return from Mississippi so she could replace his GPS device.
Rivers came back to Nashville and by then Wilhoite said she knew of his bond conditions which clearly stated he couldn’t leave the county or be in contact with his ex-girlfriend Lauren Johansen.
Wilhoite told the courts she felt there wasn’t much she could do when Rivers arrived since she had no warrant for what was a clear violation of his bond conditions.
“I had no warrant,” Wilhoite told the court.
“You don’t need a warrant to surrender someone correct,” an attorney asked.
“I think you would. I just couldn’t show up to the jail with him I’m sure,” Wilhoite replied.
“They do it all the time,” a judge responded.
Leonardo says agents do need some sort of warrant before surrendering, but they also need the sheriff's office or the courts to make themselves available for situations just like these.
That said, it doesn't mean bonding companies do nothing.
“I would much rather err on the side of having Mr. Rivers at the state bonding office and they say, we don’t have any way to take him. At least we know as the bonding company, I’ve done my job,” Leonardo said.
Wilhoite said she was only operating in her capacity as a GPS monitoring company and not as an agent of Brooke’s Bail Bonding. NewsChannel 5 Investigates also discovered Wilhoite was holding down multiple jobs while being responsible for monitoring Bricen Rivers.
Leonardo says, then maybe these bonding companies should reconsider having agents operating in dual roles. With all he's heard of the potential for conflict, Leonardo says he fully expects judges to consider rule changes to this effect.
“To say I was aware of those conditions, but it wasn’t my role at the time to do that—That’s true, but is that the best practice, and is it a conflict,” Leonardo asked.
One issue Leonardo says is much less talked about, deals with how bond companies are taking far less than what the courts agreed upon before letting someone walk out of jail.
Rivers bonded out of jail with the help of both companies splitting his $150,000 bond, but it turns out he paid less than half of the standard 10 percent for his release.
“A lot of times what we’ll see is bonding companies take less than 10 percent. Now they’re still on the hook for the entire amount of that bond, but if they’re willing to do it for $5 on a $1,000 bond, then they’re legally entitled to do that,” Leonardo said.
Brooke Harlan of Brooke’s Bail Bonding told the courts she’s even seen bonding companies accept as little as one percent.
“We’re competing with companies doing them for one percent,” Harlan said.
Judge Cheryl Blackburn faced widespread criticism for lowering Rivers’ bond in April from $250,000 to $150,000.
Leonardo says Rivers was allowed to walk out of jail after paying Brooke’s Bail Bonding far less than 10% of what the judge set.
“It’s not illegal, but it’s one of the things that we’re seeing in a big city like Nashville and so to get the business, they’re going to do it for less than that 10 percent premium,” Leonardo said.
Judges questioned whether Brooke’s Bail Bonding accepted a credit bond which would not be allowed for bonds of $25,000 or more.
This is where you can make partial payments toward your bond amount, even after you’ve already been released.
While Rivers' mother made payments toward his bond, attorneys later cleared up that there were no more payments after his release. Which Leonardo says would mean these bond companies were not in violation of the credit bond rules.
Leonardo knows there’s plenty for the courts to consider on whether these companies should face some punishment for their role, but says he’s encouraged by all the stakeholders interested in meaningful change.
Whether that’s the bonding system, GPS monitoring companies, or how we handle serious offenders, he’s confident these courts will get it right.
“This is a system that could improve and should have already improved, but no doubt I have firm belief that it will improve,” Leonardo said.
