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Uber helping investigators look into account that sent driver to Ohio home where she was killed

Uber helping investigators look into account that sent driver to Ohio home where she was killed
THIS IS WLWT NEWS FIVE LEADING THE WAY. A PAIR OF PHONE SCAMS LEADS TO A DEADLY SHOOTING. THANKS FOR JOINING US AT SEVEN. I’M ASHLEY KIRKLEN AND I’M CHRIS JACOBS. IT ALL HAPPENED IN SPRINGFIELD, OHIO. THAT’S NEAR DAYTON. AND THAT’S WHERE AN 81 YEAR OLD MAN FACES A MURDER CHARGE TONIGHT AFTER ALLEGEDLY SHOOTING AN UBER DRIVER IN HIS DRIVEWAY. POLICE SAY THE SHOOTER AND THE VICTIM WERE BOTH THE TARGET OF THE SAME SCAMMER. OH, GOD. OH. AUTHORITIES SAY SCAMMERS CALLED 81 YEAR OLD WILLIAM BROCK SEVERAL TIMES ON THE MORNING OF MARCH 25TH, THREATENING BROCK AND HIS FAMILY. THEY DEMANDED RANSOM FOR A FAMILY MEMBER AND SAID THEY WOULD KILL HIM AND HIS RELATIVE IF HE DIDN’T PAY. THAT SAME DAY, UBER DRIVER LOLITA HALL WAS TOLD TO PICK UP A PACKAGE FROM HALL’S ADDRESS. POLICE SAY SHE GOT THE CALL FROM THE SAME SCAMMERS WHO WERE TARGETING BROCK. DASH CAM VIDEO FROM HALL’S CAR SHOWS HER ARRIVED TO BROCK’S HOME TO PICK UP THAT PACKAGE. BROCK WALKS OUT WITH A GUN AND POINTS IT AT HALL. OH GOD. INVESTIGATORS SAY HE TOOK HER PHONE AND WOULDN’T LET HER LEAVE WHEN SHE DID TRY TO GO. POLICE SAY BROCK SHOT HER THREE TIMES. HE CALLED POLICE, SAYING HALL TRIED TO ROB HIM. HALL WAS FLOWN TO THE HOSPITAL, WHERE SHE LATER DIED. WHILE INVESTIGATORS WERE STILL AT THE SCENE. THE SCAMMERS CALLED AGAIN, CLAIMING TO BE POLICE. UBER RELEASING A STATEMENT TONIGHT THAT READS THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO DESCRIBE THIS INCIDENT THAN A HORRIFIC TRAGEDY. OUR HEARTS CONTINUE TO BE WITH LOLITA’S LOVED ONES AS THEY GRIEVE HER SUDDEN LOSS. WE HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AND REMAIN COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING THEIR INVESTIGATION. UBER ALSO WENT ON TO SAY THE ACCOUNTS OF THE INDIVIDUAL WHO ORDERED THE UBER TRIP HAS BEEN BANNED AS WELL. AS OF RIGHT NOW, THE CALLER HAS NOT BE
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Uber helping investigators look into account that sent driver to Ohio home where she was killed
Uber is helping investigators look into an account that sent a driver to the Ohio home where an 81-year-old man allegedly shot the woman to death because he erroneously believed she was part of a scam that targeted him, 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 Brock's home, a .22-caliber revolver, is subject to forfeiture. Brock has pleaded not guilty. Police said Brock called 911 before noon to say he had shot someone at his South Charleston home, claiming Hall had tried to rob him. Investigators later said the driver was unaware of the scam call that Brock had received with threats and demands for money, citing an incarcerated relative.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 Brock “produced a gun and held her at gunpoint, making demands for identities of the subjects he had spoken with on the phone." It's not clear exactly what the phone callers said to Brock, but the sheriff's office news release included a reminder, particularly to older people, that law enforcement and courts do not solicit cash for bail money “in the manner of this case.”“We encourage all citizens to use extreme caution when being contacted unexpectedly by subjects claiming to be relatives incarcerated in a correctional facility, or claiming to have direct knowledge of relatives incarcerated in a correctional facility,” the sheriff's office warned.The FBI in January issued an alert regarding government impersonation scams that send couriers to the homes of their targets — often older people — to collect money, or have them purchase gold and other precious metals. The FBI said its Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded that such activity had resulted in losses of more than $55 million in the last eight months of 2023.A 2021 survey of older adults in the Chicago area found that when people were told by a fictitious government agency their personal information was compromised, those with low awareness of scams were particularly vulnerable. Police have said the Hall's Uber trip to pick up a package was ordered by the same person who made scam calls to Brock, or by an accomplice. Brock is accused of taking 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. Brock shot Hall two more times, sustaining a minor head injury himself during the confrontation, and then called 911, police said. Hall, a Columbus resident 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. FBI spokesperson Todd Lindgren with the agency's Cincinnati office said it was aware of the murder but declined to confirm or deny whether it was involved in the case.In an obituary in which her name was given as Lo-Letha “Letha” Toland-Hall, Hall was described as the parent of a son and a stepson, a devoted member of her church and a talented cook known for delicious pound cakes. She retired from Ohio’s Regional Income Tax Agency and also worked in behavioral health, at a school and for Uber. She studied horticulture at Ohio State and started a janitorial business.

Uber is helping investigators look into an account that sent a driver to the Ohio home where an 81-year-old man allegedly shot the woman to death because he erroneously believed she was part of a scam that targeted him, 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.”

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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 Brock's home, a .22-caliber revolver, is subject to forfeiture. Brock has pleaded not guilty.

Police said Brock called 911 before noon to say he had shot someone at his South Charleston home, claiming Hall had tried to rob him. Investigators later said the driver was unaware of the scam call that Brock had received with threats and demands for money, citing an incarcerated relative.

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 Brock “produced a gun and held her at gunpoint, making demands for identities of the subjects he had spoken with on the phone."

It's not clear exactly what the phone callers said to Brock, but the sheriff's office news release included a reminder, particularly to older people, that law enforcement and courts do not solicit cash for bail money “in the manner of this case.”

“We encourage all citizens to use extreme caution when being contacted unexpectedly by subjects claiming to be relatives incarcerated in a correctional facility, or claiming to have direct knowledge of relatives incarcerated in a correctional facility,” the sheriff's office warned.

The FBI in January issued an alert regarding government impersonation scams that send couriers to the homes of their targets — often older people — to collect money, or have them purchase gold and other precious metals. The FBI said its Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded that such activity had resulted in losses of more than $55 million in the last eight months of 2023.

A 2021 survey of older adults in the Chicago area found that when people were told by a fictitious government agency their personal information was compromised, those with low awareness of scams were particularly vulnerable.

Police have said the Hall's Uber trip to pick up a package was ordered by the same person who made scam calls to Brock, or by an accomplice.

Brock is accused of taking 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.

Brock shot Hall two more times, sustaining a minor head injury himself during the confrontation, and then called 911, police said. Hall, a Columbus resident 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. FBI spokesperson Todd Lindgren with the agency's Cincinnati office said it was aware of the murder but declined to confirm or deny whether it was involved in the case.

In an obituary in which her name was given as Lo-Letha “Letha” Toland-Hall, Hall was described as the parent of a son and a stepson, a devoted member of her church and a talented cook known for delicious pound cakes. She retired from Ohio’s Regional Income Tax Agency and also worked in behavioral health, at a school and for Uber. She studied horticulture at Ohio State and started a janitorial business.