Judges hear bail bondsmen in Bricen Rivers case after failed GPS tracking

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) – A pivotal moment occurred when Nakeda Wilhoite stepped up to the microphone.

She was the center of our NewsChannel 5 investigates She reports that she was working multiple jobs while also being responsible for monitoring Bricen Rivers, a man who was released on bail in Nashville and was charged a few days later in Mississippi with the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Lauren Johansen.

Wilhoite became a key figure during an evidentiary hearing Thursday, where a six-judge panel heard from two different bail companies that posted bail for Rivers. He was charged in Nashville in late 2023 with assaulting Johansen while the two were on vacation here in December. He was finally released on bail with a GPS monitoring device in late June and returned home to Mississippi. Days later, authorities found her dead.

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Two different companies – Brooke's Bail Bonding and On Time Bail Bonds – each provided $75,000 to get Rivers released. However, court documents showed that Rivers was never allowed to return to Mississippi. He was allowed to live in Davidson County, have an electronic monitoring device, and have no contact with Johansen. He was also not allowed to own any weapons.

Freedom Monitoring Services – which Wilhoite runs while she also works for Brooke's Bail Bonding – wrote that it was unaware of the court order requiring Rivers to remain in Davidson County. Rivers told the company he would live in Mississippi even after signing the court order requiring him not to leave Tennessee.

As it turned out, the judges had questions about this.

What happened at the hearing?

However, the panel had to track down Wilhoite, whose presence was not initially expected on Thursday.

The court was eventually able to get her to appear in court and explain her role as the GPS monitoring company responsible for Rivers. In addition to her role as the director of Freedom Monitoring Services, Wilhoite worked as a bail bondsman for Brooke's Bail Bonding. At the same time, she worked full-time as a case manager for the Tennessee Department of Children's Services.

Wilhoite told the court she didn't meet Rivers until June 29, by which time one of her colleagues at Brooke's Bail Bonding had already installed a GPS device on him. She then said she didn't know Rivers was to remain in Davidson County until the day before their meeting.

Wilhoite said she told Rivers to come back to Nashville to fix his GPS device, but was unsure if she had the authority to send him to jail for violating bail conditions.

Prosecutors and even the judges became frustrated by the questions because they had just heard Wilhoite admit that she knew Rivers had violated his bail conditions and there had apparently been no effort to contact law enforcement.

“​I didn't have a warrant,” Wilhoite said.

“You don’t need a warrant to extradite someone, right?” she was asked.

“I think so. I'm sure I just wouldn't be able to show up in prison with him,” Wilhoite said.

“They do this all the time,” said one judge.

A judge asked Brooke Harlan, the owner of Brooke's Bail Bonding, why Wilhoite was still working for her even though he knew she let Rivers go to Mississippi.

Harlan said she had long discussions with Wilhoite and her staff to make corrections, but it was clear the judges felt there was some negligence.

What does Johansen's family think?

The Johansen family attended the hearing on Thursday and listened to the witness statements.

“I don't care who you say you work for,” said Dr. Lance Johansen. “If you say you work for this company one day or that company that day. If a person is out on bail and violates the bail conditions, you call 911. That's what you do.”

Her family told us they are heartbroken and frustrated over the death of their daughter. They took her from the hospital after Rivers beat her in Nashville. She was covered in blood from a cut on her forehead and her eye was swollen shut. She required treatment for multiple injuries.

When Rivers was released on bail this summer, court officials acknowledged that due to an error by one of their employees, the Davidson County Jail did not have Rivers' bail conditions in place when he was released.

This meant that Rivers walked out of jail without supervision before calling Brooke's bail department himself.

Jail records show that Rivers was released from the Davidson County Jail later than the warrant indicated, so Harlan hired Freedom Monitoring and Wilhoite to provide GPS services instead.

The judges will now consider all of this and decide whether to suspend the operations of these companies or to withdraw their ability to issue bonds in Davidson County.