NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A six-judge panel ruled on Monday that two bonding companies were not at fault after a man bonded out in Nashville and later became accused of killing his girlfriend in Mississippi.
Bricen Rivers and Lauren Johansen were visiting Music City from Mississippi in December 2023 when their night turned violent. As the couple was leaving downtown, they got in the car where police said Rivers began beating his girlfriend as he was driving and took her phone. Rivers eventually stopped the car in a parking lot where police say the assault continued, causing her to almost lose consciousness.
Rivers was held in the Nashville jail until he was released on bond this summer. Days later, he was accused of killing Johansen.
Previous reporting: Judges hear from bonding companies on Bricen Rivers case after GPS tracking miss
Two different companies — Brooke's Bail Bonding and On Time Bail Bonds — put up $75,000 each to get Rivers released from jail. The judge said Rivers had to stay in Nashville, have no contact with the victim, and wear a GPS tracking device. But the bonding companies allowed him to return to Mississippi. A third company, Freedom Monitoring Services, was responsible for monitoring his GPS device.
"Obviously a calamity of human and institutional errors occurred in the release process of (Rivers)," the panel of judges wrote. "Bonding agents signed bond release orders sight unseen. The Criminal Court Clerk's office failed to send the full and complete bond condition order, which has now been rectified per testimony. However, the bonding companies did not act appropriately by not following the court order. The issue becomes what, if any, sanction should be imposed."
You can read the full ruling by tapping on this link.
The judges go on to write that the court didn't find Brooke's Bail Bonding or On Time Bail Bonds to have violated those rules.
The court said that "the negligence of multiple parties where small but cumulative inactions led to a tragic resolution."
How did we get here?
Much of this case revolves around Nakeda Wilhoite. NewsChannel 5 Investigates discovered she was holding down multiple jobs while being responsible for monitoring Bricen Rivers.
Wilhoite not only worked for Brooke's Bail Bonding, she also runs Freedom Monitoring Services. Wilhoite said she was unaware of the court's order that required Rivers to remain in Davidson County. Rivers told the company that he was going back to Mississippi, even after he signed the court order requiring him to stay in Tennessee until his trial.
Previous reporting: Graphic recordings reveal beating before a Nashville suspect allegedly killed his girlfriend
When it was figured out he was out of state, Wilhoite said she told Rivers to return to Nashville to fix his GPS device but wasn't sure she had the authority to take him to jail for violating his bond conditions. In a photo shared with NewsChannel 5 Investigates it appears Rivers returned to Nashville in Johansen’s car with her in the passenger seat.
In the ruling, the judges wrote that the warrant for Rivers' arrest wasn't received in a timely manner. They further said bonding agents are struggling to surrender defendants, meaning the magistrate is "hesitant" to accept people who violate their bond agreement.
They concluded there was no specific structure for regulating GPS monitoring companies.
When Rivers bonded out this summer, court officials acknowledged that an error by one of their clerks meant the Davidson County Jail did not have Rivers' bond conditions when he was released.
"When Mr. Rivers was released, I wasn't notified. My daughter wasn't notified," Dr. Lance Johansen told us earlier this summer. "When you have a person that's out on bond and they are in violation of the bond, you dial 911. That's what you do."
We know getting help may seem daunting, scary and complex. Below are some jumping-off points in your county.
All counties: Morning Star Sanctuary - (615) 860-0188 / Nurture the Next - (615) 383-0994 / The Mary Parrish Center - (615) 256-5959 / YWCA Nashville - (615) 983-5160
Bedford / Coffee County: Haven of Hope - (931) 728-1133
Cheatham County: Safe Haven of Cheatham County - (615) 681-5863
Cannon County: Cannon County S.A.V.E - (615)-563-6690
Clay County: Genesis House - (931) 525-1637
Davidson County: Family & Children Services - (615) 320-0591 / Family Safety Center - (615) 880-1100 / Jean Crowe Advocacy Center - (615) 862-4767
Dickson and Hickman Counties: Women Are Safe (931) 729-9885
Giles County: The Shelter, Inc. - (931) 762-1115
Grundy County: Families in Crisis, Inc. - (931) 473-6543
Houston / Montgomery Counties: Urban Methodist Urban Ministries Safehouse - (931) 648-9100
Maury County: Center of Hope - (931) 840-0916
Robertson / Sumner / Wilson Counties: HomeSafe Inc. - (615) 452-5439
Rutherford County: Domestic & Sexual Assault Center - (615) 896-7377
Williamson County: Bridges Domestic Violence Center - (615) 599-5777
