Ohio man, 83, convicted of killing Uber driver who he wrongly thought was robbing him after scam calls
A jury convicted an 83-year-old Ohio man of murder in the shooting of an Uber driver who he wrongly thought was trying to rob him after scam phone calls deceived them both.
William J. Brock fatally shot the driver after wrongly assuming she was in on a plot to get $12,000 in supposed bond money for a relative, authorities said.
The driver fell victim to the same scammer, driving to Brock's home between Dayton and Columbus to pick up a package for delivery, according to investigators.
Brock shot the driver, 61-year-old Lo-Letha Toland-Hall of Dublin, a Columbus suburb, six times when she showed up at his home in March 2024, authorities said.
Brock, of South Charleston, was convicted of murder, felonious assault and kidnapping Wednesday. He is scheduled to be sentenced next week. A message seeking comment was left with his attorney.
The jury deliberated for about an hour before returning the verdict, CBS affiliate WHIO-TV reported.
Brock's attorney said the shooting was in self-defense and the scammer had made threats against him and his family. Brock testified during the trial that he felt threatened when the driver arrived at his house. He said he was so sure he would die that he grabbed his gun and ushered Hall out of his house, WHIO reported.
"After the first shot, she backed up a little more, and (I) don't know what triggered it, but I shot at her shoulder," he said, according to CBS affiliate WBNS. He said there was then "a little scuffle" over the door of a vehicle. "She got a hold of the door, slammed it into my head and that's what injured me," he said.
But prosecutors said Hall was unarmed and posed no threat when Brock shot her. Investigators said the driver was unaware of the scam call that Brock had received with threats and demands for money.
Clark County Prosecutor Daniel Driscoll told reporters after the verdict that both families lost loved ones because of the scam.
"The really sad part about this is that we know there are still criminals out there," he said. "We know that the scammers, the folks who started this, haven't been brought to justice."
One year after Hall's death, her estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit, seeking more than $25,000 in damages, WBNS reported.