Uber helps investigate Ohio driver’s shooting death
Associated Press | 4/18/2024, 6 p.m.
Uber is helping investigators look into the account that sent a driver to the Ohio home where an 81-year-old man allegedly shot a woman to death because he erroneously believed she was part of a scam, the ride-hailing company said Wednesday.
The March 25 shooting death of Loletha Hall is “a horrific tragedy,” and that account has since been banned, an Uber spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement. “Our hearts continue to be with Loletha’s loved ones as they grieve.”
William J. Brock was indicted Monday on charges of murder, felonious assault and kidnapping for Hall’s death. Messages seeking comment were left Wednesday for him and for his lawyer, Paul Kavanagh of Springfield, Ohio.
The grand jury also said that a gun seized from Mr. Brock’s home, a .22-caliber revolver, is subject to forfeiture. Mr. Brock has pleaded not guilty.
Police said Mr. Brock called 911 before noon to say he had shot someone at his South Charleston home, claiming Ms. Hall had tried to rob him. Investigators later said the driver was unaware of the scam call that Mr. Brock had received with threats and demands for money, citing an incarcerated relative.
Ms. Hall “made no threats or assaults toward Mr. Brock, and made no demands, other than to ask about the package she was sent to retrieve through the Uber app,” the Clark County Sheriff’s Office wrote in an April 11 release. The police agency said Mr. Brock “produced a gun and held her at gunpoint, making demands for identities of the subjects he had spoken with on the phone.”
Police have said Ms. Hall’s Uber trip to pick up a package was ordered by the same person who made scam calls to Mr. Brock, or by an accomplice. Uber’s statement released Wednesday said the company has provided information to help investigators.
Mr. Brock is accused of taking Ms. Hall’s cellphone and not letting her leave, then shooting her to death when she tried to get into her vehicle. The sheriff’s office said it is investigating “the original scam call to Mr. Brock by the male subject” and the package delivery order through the app.
Mr. Brock shot Ms. Hall two more times, sustaining a minor head injury himself during the confrontation, and then called 911, police said. Ms. Hall, who police said was not armed, later died at a hospital.
He posted $200,000 bail and was released from the Clark County Jail on Wednesday.