Uber is helping investigators probe an account that sent a driver to an Ohio home where an 81-year-old man allegedly shot and killed a woman because he mistakenly believed she was part of a scam targeting him, the ride-hailing company said. Wednesday.
The shooting of Loleta Hall on March 25 was a “horrific tragedy” and the account has since been suspended, an Uber spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement. “Our hearts remain with Loleta’s loved ones as they grieve.”
William J. Brock was charged Monday with murder, assault and kidnapping in Hall’s death. Messages seeking comment were left Wednesday for him and his attorney, Paul Cavanaugh of Springfield, Ohio.
The grand jury also said the gun seized from Brock’s home, a .22-caliber revolver, was to be forfeited. Brock has pleaded not guilty.
Police said Brock called 911 before noon and reported that he had shot someone at his South Charleston home, claiming Hall was trying to rob him. Investigators later said the driver was unaware of a fraudulent call Brock received threatening him and demanding money, citing an imprisoned relative.
Hall “did not threaten or assault Mr. Brock or make any demands other than to ask about the package she was sent to pick up through the Uber app,” the Clark County Sheriff’s Office wrote in an April 11 post. The police department said Brock “pulled out a gun and held her at gunpoint, demanding the identities of those he was talking to on the phone.”
It’s unclear what exactly the callers told Brock, but the sheriff’s office press release included a reminder, especially for seniors, that law enforcement and courts do not require cash as bail “as in this case.”
“We urge all citizens to exercise extreme caution if unexpectedly contacted by individuals claiming to be relatives incarcerated in a correctional facility or claiming to have direct knowledge of relatives incarcerated at a correctional facility,” the sheriff’s office warned.
FBI in January issued a warning regarding government impersonation scams in which couriers are sent to the homes of their targets – often elderly people – to collect money or force them to buy gold and other precious metals. The FBI said its Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded that such activity resulted in more than $55 million in losses in the last eight months of 2023.
2021 survey of older people in the Chicago area found that when a fictitious government agency told people their personal information had been compromised, people with low fraud awareness were especially vulnerable.
Police said Hall’s Uber ride to pick up the pitch was ordered by the same person who made the scam call to Brock or an associate of his.
Brock is accused of taking Hall’s cellphone and preventing her from leaving, then shooting her as she tried to get into her vehicle. The sheriff’s office said it was investigating “an initial fraudulent call to Mr. Brock by a male” and an order for package delivery through the app.
Brock shot Hall two more times, suffering a minor head injury himself during the confrontation, and then called 911, police said. Hall, a Columbus resident who police said was unarmed, later died at the hospital.
He posted $200,000 bail and was released from the Clark County Jail on Wednesday. FBI spokesman Todd Lindgren of the agency’s Cincinnati office said he was aware of the murder but declined to confirm or deny his involvement in the case.
IN obituary in which her name was given as Lo-Letha “Letha” Toland-Hall, Hall was described as the parent of a son and stepson, a devoted member of her church, and a talented cook known for her delicious cupcakes. She retired from the Ohio Regional Tax Office and also worked in behavioral health, school and Uber. She studied horticulture at Ohio State and began cleaning.