Tennessee
Man serving a life sentence for murder slips through prison fence, escapes
TIPTONVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A man serving a life sentence for killing his co-worker four years ago has escaped from a prison in northwest Tennessee by slipping through a fence, authorities said.
Officials realized Jacob Morley, 28, was unaccounted for around 11:30 p.m. Sunday at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, the Tennessee Department of Correction said in a statement.
Investigators looked at security cameras and saw Morley escaped while wearing his prison uniform, officials said. They did not release any other details, including how Morley got through the fence.
Prison officials offered a reward of up to $2,500 for Morley’s arrest. They said law enforcement throughout the area has searched buildings and other structures near the prison about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Memphis in an isolated, rural area of flat land tucked near a bend in the Mississippi River near Missouri.
Morley is 5-foot-11 (1.8 meters) and 240 pounds (109 kilograms). He has brown hair and green eyes.
Morley was sentenced to life for killing co-worker Cody Birchfield in 2022. Birchfield’s body was found in a box under Morley’s Carter County home after he had been missing for a few weeks.
Along with first-degree murder, Morley was also convicted of aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest. When Morley saw deputies at his home in 2022, he led police on a chase that ended in North Carolina, authorities said.
Several violent attacks between inmates and by employees have been reported in recent years at Northwest Correctional Complex. A grand jury in July returned dozens of indictments for five inmate murders, assaults against staff and inmates and other violence.
Florida
15-year-old arrested in Florida A&M shooting after football game
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A 15-year-old will be charged as an adult in a weekend shooting that wounded 11 people at Florida A&M University following the school’s homecoming football game, authorities said Monday.
A fight broke out before the shooting Saturday night, and it appears that none of the victims were intended targets, according to Tallahassee police. The youngest victim is 11 years old.
Authorities arrested Anthony Rivers III on Sunday and charged him with attempted second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a delinquent, police said in a statement. Court records did not indicate whether Rivers has an attorney who could comment on the charges.
The teen appeared in court Monday for a brief hearing, where a judge ordered that he remain in jail. Prosecutors will move his case to adult court, State Attorney Jack Campbell said.
A surveillance camera captured some of the shooting, Campbell said, but he said investigators are searching for more video and want to talk with witnesses to piece together what happened.
The shooting erupted near a street corner just outside Bragg Memorial Stadium after Florida A&M lost to Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Eleven people were hit by gunfire and another person — a grandmother of one of the shooting victims — was injured while running away. Six of those hurt were minors, police said.
Police Chief Lawrence Revell said the area was so crowded at the time that ambulances were unable to get through to where the shooting happened.
Officers carried the wounded through the crowds to emergency vehicles so that the victims could be taken to hospitals, he said.
The shooting stemmed from an isolated dispute between just a few people, Revell said. Investigators are looking for others who might have been involved and more arrests are possible, he said.
At least three of the victims suffered serious injuries, authorities said. One was in critical condition as of Sunday, police said, but no other updates have been released on the wounded.
Video surfaced on social media of people fleeing in terror. The area was packed with people leaving the game and homecoming celebration.
Georgia
Prominent Republican gets 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in Ponzi scheme
NEWNAN, Ga. (AP) — A prominent Georgia Republican who ran a Ponzi scheme that federal prosecutors said caused losses of more than $76 million to more than 300 victims has been sentenced to spend 15 years in federal prison.
Edwin Brant Frost IV, 69, had pleaded guilty in May to a charge of wire fraud that resulted from an investigation that began after First Liberty Building and Loan collapsed in June 2025. Frost, who has publicly apologized for his role, was also ordered to pay more than $76 million in restitution.
Frost spoke during his sentencing hearing, saying it was “difficult to be here and to listen” to victims speak about the harm they suffered, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
“I have messed up a lot of good people’s lives,” he said.
Chief U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May said the length of the sentence was a reflection of the severity of the damage, the newspaper reported.
Investing in First Liberty was often pitched on talk shows hosted by conservatives, including Erick Erickson, Hugh Hewitt and Charlie Kirk.
It promised returns of up to 16% by making high-interest loans to businesses. Frost, an evangelical powerbroker, touted “Wall Street returns for Main Street investors.” But he skimmed $17 million for himself, his relatives and their affiliated companies, and loaned millions more that borrowers never repaid, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit said.
The firm’s collapse rocked the religious and political networks that fed cash to the business, based in suburban Newnan, southwest of Atlanta. It also could have ramifications in state Republican politics, cutting off funding to the far-right candidates that Frost and his family have favored. Investigators said Frost spent $570,000 from investor funds on political contributions.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg likened Frost to a “false prophet and ravenous wolf in sheep’s clothing,” using religion, politics and promises of wealth to exploit investors and enrich himself.
“This was a stunning, sinful, and sacrilegious abuse of trust that wrecked hundreds of investors, including retirees and seniors who lost their life savings,” Hertzberg said in a press release.
Man serving a life sentence for murder slips through prison fence, escapes
TIPTONVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A man serving a life sentence for killing his co-worker four years ago has escaped from a prison in northwest Tennessee by slipping through a fence, authorities said.
Officials realized Jacob Morley, 28, was unaccounted for around 11:30 p.m. Sunday at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, the Tennessee Department of Correction said in a statement.
Investigators looked at security cameras and saw Morley escaped while wearing his prison uniform, officials said. They did not release any other details, including how Morley got through the fence.
Prison officials offered a reward of up to $2,500 for Morley’s arrest. They said law enforcement throughout the area has searched buildings and other structures near the prison about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Memphis in an isolated, rural area of flat land tucked near a bend in the Mississippi River near Missouri.
Morley is 5-foot-11 (1.8 meters) and 240 pounds (109 kilograms). He has brown hair and green eyes.
Morley was sentenced to life for killing co-worker Cody Birchfield in 2022. Birchfield’s body was found in a box under Morley’s Carter County home after he had been missing for a few weeks.
Along with first-degree murder, Morley was also convicted of aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest. When Morley saw deputies at his home in 2022, he led police on a chase that ended in North Carolina, authorities said.
Several violent attacks between inmates and by employees have been reported in recent years at Northwest Correctional Complex. A grand jury in July returned dozens of indictments for five inmate murders, assaults against staff and inmates and other violence.
Florida
15-year-old arrested in Florida A&M shooting after football game
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A 15-year-old will be charged as an adult in a weekend shooting that wounded 11 people at Florida A&M University following the school’s homecoming football game, authorities said Monday.
A fight broke out before the shooting Saturday night, and it appears that none of the victims were intended targets, according to Tallahassee police. The youngest victim is 11 years old.
Authorities arrested Anthony Rivers III on Sunday and charged him with attempted second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a delinquent, police said in a statement. Court records did not indicate whether Rivers has an attorney who could comment on the charges.
The teen appeared in court Monday for a brief hearing, where a judge ordered that he remain in jail. Prosecutors will move his case to adult court, State Attorney Jack Campbell said.
A surveillance camera captured some of the shooting, Campbell said, but he said investigators are searching for more video and want to talk with witnesses to piece together what happened.
The shooting erupted near a street corner just outside Bragg Memorial Stadium after Florida A&M lost to Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Eleven people were hit by gunfire and another person — a grandmother of one of the shooting victims — was injured while running away. Six of those hurt were minors, police said.
Police Chief Lawrence Revell said the area was so crowded at the time that ambulances were unable to get through to where the shooting happened.
Officers carried the wounded through the crowds to emergency vehicles so that the victims could be taken to hospitals, he said.
The shooting stemmed from an isolated dispute between just a few people, Revell said. Investigators are looking for others who might have been involved and more arrests are possible, he said.
At least three of the victims suffered serious injuries, authorities said. One was in critical condition as of Sunday, police said, but no other updates have been released on the wounded.
Video surfaced on social media of people fleeing in terror. The area was packed with people leaving the game and homecoming celebration.
Georgia
Prominent Republican gets 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in Ponzi scheme
NEWNAN, Ga. (AP) — A prominent Georgia Republican who ran a Ponzi scheme that federal prosecutors said caused losses of more than $76 million to more than 300 victims has been sentenced to spend 15 years in federal prison.
Edwin Brant Frost IV, 69, had pleaded guilty in May to a charge of wire fraud that resulted from an investigation that began after First Liberty Building and Loan collapsed in June 2025. Frost, who has publicly apologized for his role, was also ordered to pay more than $76 million in restitution.
Frost spoke during his sentencing hearing, saying it was “difficult to be here and to listen” to victims speak about the harm they suffered, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
“I have messed up a lot of good people’s lives,” he said.
Chief U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May said the length of the sentence was a reflection of the severity of the damage, the newspaper reported.
Investing in First Liberty was often pitched on talk shows hosted by conservatives, including Erick Erickson, Hugh Hewitt and Charlie Kirk.
It promised returns of up to 16% by making high-interest loans to businesses. Frost, an evangelical powerbroker, touted “Wall Street returns for Main Street investors.” But he skimmed $17 million for himself, his relatives and their affiliated companies, and loaned millions more that borrowers never repaid, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit said.
The firm’s collapse rocked the religious and political networks that fed cash to the business, based in suburban Newnan, southwest of Atlanta. It also could have ramifications in state Republican politics, cutting off funding to the far-right candidates that Frost and his family have favored. Investigators said Frost spent $570,000 from investor funds on political contributions.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg likened Frost to a “false prophet and ravenous wolf in sheep’s clothing,” using religion, politics and promises of wealth to exploit investors and enrich himself.
“This was a stunning, sinful, and sacrilegious abuse of trust that wrecked hundreds of investors, including retirees and seniors who lost their life savings,” Hertzberg said in a press release.
