Court orders hearing with bonding companies over Mississippi man’s release in Nashville before victim’s murder

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A Davidson County Criminal Court has ordered two bonding companies to appear for an evidentiary hearing to reveal the circumstances surrounding the release of a Mississippi man in Nashville who later allegedly murdered the woman he was jailed for assaulting in December 2023.

On Aug. 15, the owners and all involved agents of Brooke’s Bail Bonding and On Time Bonding shall appear and give testimony regarding the release of Bricen Rivers.

Rivers, 23, and Lauren Johansen, 22, were on a trip to Nashville last December when they got into a brutal fight. Rivers was arrested and put in a Davidson County jail for several months. Following his release in Nashville, he allegedly returned to Mississippi and murdered Johansen.

He bonded out of jail and was given a court order that required him to stay in Davidson County, get an ankle monitor and not go near Johansen. However, a series of missteps led to his release without the court-ordered precautions and now he’s charged with her murder.

In the above order setting the evidentiary hearing, the courts call upon the bonding companies to produce any contracts, receipts, documents, recorded or written communications, emails, texts, photographs or videos related to the bond, bond conditions and/or release of Rivers to the Chambers of Judge Steve Dozier.

“On June 24, 2024, Brooke’s Bail Bonding and On Time Bonding posted bonds on Defendant’s behalf of $75,000 each toward the total $150,000 bond, thereby securing the Defendant’s pre-trial release. On July 4, 2024, the Defendant was taken into custody in Harrison County, Mississippi for the homicide of the victim in this case,” the order states.

This call for the hearing comes as the court believes certain irregularities may have accompanied the posting of bond and release of Rivers, “...and in order to ensure the reliability of these companies in the operation of the Court, an evidentiary hearing is necessary and appropriate to inquire into the circumstances of the Defendant’s release.”

Rivers has a preliminary trial date set for July 31 at the Gulfport Justice Court in Harrison County.

About a week following his arrest, the Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk’s Office admitted to making a mistake in Rivers’ release. The clerk’s office tells WSMV4 they signed off on a document allowing Rivers to get out of jail without ensuring he had an ankle monitor.