The Dane County Sheriff's Office is searching for the man who robbed the Bank of Deerfield on Shaul Lane at gunpoint on Tuesday evening, and Tennessee authorities say they are looking into whether the robbery is tied to escaped convicted murderer Jacob Allen Morley.
Deputies responded at 5:10 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, after a man armed with a handgun arrived as employees were closing for the day. Two bank employees were restrained and forced to hand over an undisclosed amount of cash.
The suspect fled in a Lincoln MKZ stolen from the parking lot. The car was found a short time later, abandoned on State Farm Road, and K-9 and drone searches of the area did not find him.
Morley, 28, escaped Sunday from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, where he was serving a life sentence. Prison staff found him missing around 11:30 p.m., and security video showed him breaching the perimeter fence and later taking a pickup truck that was found abandoned early Tuesday in Marion, Illinois.
Morley was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2022 killing of his co-worker Cody Birchfield, whose body was found in a metal box under Morley's home. He is 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighs about 240 pounds, and has brown hair and green eyes.
A $15,000 reward is offered for information leading to Morley's capture. Authorities warn people not to approach him and to call 911 instead. Anyone with information or video about the Deerfield robbery is asked to call Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014.
