Full hearing: Nashville bail bond companies testify about accused killer’s release

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Six judges called two Nashville bond companies to come before them on Thursday. The hearing was called to find out how they let a man out of jail, crossed state lines and allegedly killed a young woman.

Bricen Rivers is accused of murdering 22-year-old Lauren Johansen in Mississippi after he was released. He was in a Nashville jail for months and charged with aggravated kidnapping after the two got into a brutal fight on a trip to Music City.

Brooke’s Bail Bonding and On Time Bail Bonding are the two companies that bonded Rivers out.

The hearing started with Nicola McMillan, a court liaison with Brooke’s. She said she signed off on Rivers’ bond conditions on June 5, but never saw his court order, which was also never given to her. That court order said Rivers was to stay in Davidson County and get an ankle monitor from a court-ordered company.

Rivers was released from jail on June 24 and given an ankle monitor from Freedom Monitoring, not Tracking Solutions, the court-ordered company. Brooke Harlan, owner of Brooke’s, said that’s because Tracking Solutions was closed by the time he was let out.

Nakeda Wilhoite owns Freedom Monitoring and said one of her agents set Rivers’ monitor so he could go to Mississippi because that’s what Rivers told them.

Wilhoite told judges she found out his court order said Rivers was to stay in Davidson County on June 28. On June 29 Rivers came back to Nashville at Brooke’s Bail Bonding to get his monitor changed out after having problems.

Wilhoite told Rivers not to leave Davidson County since he had a court date in a few days. She assumed Rivers would listen, but he did not.

State attorneys pressed her on why a zone was not set for Davidson County.

“I never set the zones because he was already in Nashville,” said Wilhoite. “And he was supposed to stay in Nashville.”

Lauren Johansen was found dead in Mississippi days later. Agents with Brooke’s said she was with Rivers in the car on June 29 when he came to get his ankle monitor changed out.