Uber is helping investigators probe the account that sent a driver to the Ohio home where an 81-year-old man allegedly shot the woman because he wrongly believed she was part of a scam, it said Wednesday the carpooling company.
The March 25 shooting death of Loletha Hall is “a horrible tragedy,” and the account has since been banned, an Uber spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement. “Our hearts continue to be with Loletha’s loved ones in their grief. »
William J. Brock was charged Monday with murder, felonious assault and kidnapping for Hall’s death. Messages seeking comment were left Wednesday for him and for his attorney, Paul Kavanagh of Springfield, Ohio.
The grand jury also said a gun seized from Brock’s home, a .22-caliber revolver, could be forfeited. Brock has pleaded not guilty.
Police said Brock called 911 before noon to say he had shot someone at his South Charleston home, saying Hall had tried to rob him. Investigators later said the driver was unaware of the scam call Brock received with threats and demands for money, citing an incarcerated relative.
Hall “made no threats or assaults toward Mr. Brock, and made no requests, other than to ask questions about the package she was sent to pick up via the Uber app,” the Clark County Sheriff’s Office in an April 11 news release. The police agency said Brock “pulled out a gun and held her at gunpoint, demanding the identities of the people he spoke with on the phone.”
Police said Hall’s Uber trip to pick up a package was ordered by the same person who made the scam calls to Brock, or by an accomplice. Uber’s statement released Wednesday said the company provided information to help investigators.
Brock is accused of taking Hall’s cell phone and not letting her leave, then shooting her as she tried to get into his vehicle. The sheriff’s office said it was investigating “the initial scam call made to Mr. Brock by the male subject” and the order for the package to be delivered through the app.
Brock shot Hall twice, suffering a minor head injury himself during the confrontation, then called 911, police said. Hall, who police said was unarmed, later died at the hospital.
He posted $200,000 bond and was released from the Clark County Jail on Wednesday.
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