Image Credit: Metro Nashville Police Department & tvovermind.com & Canva
The Tennessee Conservative [By Kelly M. Jackson] –
Brooke Harlan, the owner of Brooke’s Bail Bonding, along with the owners of On Time Bonding are being called by a 6-Judge panel to answer questions about the circumstances around a man named Bricen Rivers, who police in Mississippi believe murdered his girlfriend less than a week after being bonded out of jail for kidnapping and severely beating her in December of 2023, in downtown Nashville.
According to reports, Lauren Johansen, 22, and Rivers 23, 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.
The bonding company that handled Rivers release, Brooke’s Bail Bonding, appears to have handled it negligently based on statements given by Brooke Harlan and an employee of her company who fitted Rivers with his GPS device.
According to court documents, after being arrested in December in Nashville, Rivers made a motion to Judge Cheryl Blackburn for a reduction in his bail from $250,000 to $150,000 in April of this year.
Judge Blackburn, against the arguments of the prosecution, granted the reduction and Brooke’s Bail Bonds and On Time Bail Bonds each put up $75,000 to secure River’s release.
According to Harlan, because of the time-of-day River’s was released, Rivers had no bail conditions in place when he went to be fitted for his GPS.
Also, according to Harlan, when factoring in the time of day, she was precluded from using her usual GPS monitoring company and had to go with an alternative – an alternative that happens to be owned by another employee who works for her company, Nakeda Wilhoite.
Court officials later acknowledged that an error by one of their clerks meant the Davidson County Jail did not have Rivers’ bond conditions when he was released.
On June 24th, the day of River’s release, Brooke’s states that they not only allowed Rivers to leave Davidson County, but also produced camera footage of Rivers driving Johansen’s car, with Johansen in the passenger seat.
The order from Judge Cheryl Blackburn on June 5th made it clear that Rivers must wear a GPS device installed by Tracking Solutions, he cannot leave the county and must have no contact with Johansen.
When Rivers was called 4 days later on June 28th to return and have his GPS monitoring device changed, it wasn’t until then that the company finally set GPS exclusion zones that are meant to track Rivers, since he wasn’t supposed to leave Davidson County.
The reason Wilhoite gave for not setting these zones for 4 days after installation was because she claimed she was unaware of the judge’s conditions for release at the time she installed his ankle monitor.
Local legal experts aware of the case say the bonding company has liability in this case because they were aware of the conditions. The judge’s order signed by the bail agent stated where the defendant was going to be living in Davidson County and that he’s not to leave.
Yet, Rivers was allowed to leave, and with the person he had been ordered to have no contact with as a condition of his bail. Based on the information that has been provided according to the timeline, the bail companies knew all of this and did not have Rivers arrested.
The result less than a week later was the murder of Johansen, who was found in the trunk of her car in a field in Mississippi.
Rivers was arrested in Mississippi and is currently being held there on a $1,000,000 dollar bond.
About the Author: Kelly Jackson is an escapee from corporate America, and a California refugee to Tennessee. Christ follower, Wife and Mom of three amazing teenagers, she has a BA in Comm from Point Loma Nazarene University, and has a background in law enforcement and human resources. Since the summer of 2020, she has spent any and all free time in the trenches with local grassroots orgs, including Mom’s for Liberty Williamson County and Tennessee Stands as a core member. An outspoken advocate for parents rights, medical freedom, and individual liberty, Kelly also has a YouTube channel @Tennessee_Truth_Teller and is planning on expanding out to other channels soon. Kelly can be reached at kelly@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
4 Responses
This is not on the Bail Bonds company.
This is on the courts and the Probation Dept.
The probation dept. is responsible for keeping track of the bonded prisoner. The courts screwed up and failed to provide the Bonding Agency with the correct and timely info.
Bail Bond companies take collateral to get you out of jail. Their only responsibility after that in insuring their investment by retrieving someone who jumps bail. They are not custodians.
This is on the courts and their incompetent ways. They’re trying to blame the Bonds People for their failures.
The Judge should be in Jail with them.
No mention that the court failed to notify the family he was out on bond which was a condition if released. Courts are trying to shift blame. The judge and their court have this girl’s blood on they’re hands.
The judge, the prosecutor, the defense attorney, the bail bond company and the probation officer in charge of brooke are all to blame for this young women’s death. They all should be arrested and jailed for life in solitary confinement. Incompetence all!