An elderly man victimized by scammers killed an Uber driver who was duped by the same con artists while doing her day job.
Elderly man murders fellow victim of fraudsters
Lo-Letha Toland-Hall, 61, was shot to death by William Brock, 81, in South Charleston, Ohio on March 25, and the entire encounter was caught on camera.
Brock informed authorities that he shot Hall because he thought she was one of the phone scammers that had been threatening him and his family.
“Mr. Brock received some scam call by a person purporting to be someone from our courts who informed him a family member was incarcerated and that he had a bond of a significant amount of money,” Lt. Kristopher Shultz of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office told NBCDFW.
“The calls turned from ‘I’m an officer in the court’ to ‘We have this subject hostage, this is a ransom demand.”
The scammers ordered the elderly man to pay up, and Hall, a recent retiree who began working for Uber, was dispatched to Brock’s residence by the same fraudsters to collect the ransom money.
“Ms. Hall did not have any idea,” Schultz confirmed.
Brock reportedly commanded that Hall tell him who sent her and took the woman’s phone to keep her from leaving his property. During the altercation, he did not call police for help.
Hall ran back to her car, but Brock shot her in the leg. In the video, she could be heard screaming out in pain as Brock said he would “shoot the other leg.”
“When she tried to get away, he shot her once, then there was more exchange between them,” Shultz recounted.
According to Brock, Hall fought back, bashing his head into her car door, but he managed to shoot her multiple times more.
She was shot in her left leg twice and took two bullets to the torso, with one hitting her in the sternum. Hall was taken to the hospital, where she died during surgery.
Brock told police that he thought she was going to the car to retrieve a gun to kill him.
According to court records, Hall was found unarmed, and there was no indication that she posed a threat to Brock.
An Uber spokesperson said that they had contacted Hall’s family and cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
“This is a horrific tragedy and our hearts continue to be with Loletha’s loved ones as they grieve,” the spokesperson commented.
Uber banned the user who ordered the ride from their service, but police haven’t disclosed any further arrests related to the scam.
Brock was arrested and charged for failing to call police, and due to Hall posing “no active threat” during their fatal encounter.
After his arrest on a murder charge, Brock posted his $200,000 bond. If convicted, he could be sentenced for 15 years to life in prison, or face as little as a $15,000 fine.
Elderly man assaulted and carjacked while delivering pizzas
A different act of violence struck an 81-year-old Vietnam War vet in Chicago, who was attacked and robbed while delivering pizzas.
Ernie Aimone was driving his regular delivery route on Wednesday night, when he was assaulted in Jefferson Park, on Chicago’s northwest side.
Aimone told WLS the harrowing details of being being blindsided and punched around 9 p.m. at night.
“They said, ‘Gimme the keys, gimme the keys,'” Aimone stated. “And they sucker punched me from behind, hit me in the face. I was afraid for my life.”
Aimone said that he didn’t resist during the attack, opting to stay face down on the ground as the assailants fled in his vehicle.
The Chicago police were able to recover his stolen 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe, after locating it during a high sped chase that ended up totaling the vehicle when the teenage driver crashed it on the highway.
Aimone is beloved by the pizza joint’s owners and patrons, many who specifically request him for their deliveries. Community members rallied around Aimone following the news of the incident.
“He’s like a local legend,” Chamber of Commerce member Dan Ciolino of the told the outlet. “He’s been loyal to Joe’s for 40 years. He served our country. He deserves our support in his time of need.”
Despite the frightening experience, the elderly pizza delivery driver isn’t planning to quit his day job, and will get back to work as soon as he get some new wheels.
A GoFundMe page set up by the Gladstone Park Chamber of Commerce is well on the way to getting Ernie a new ride. So far they have raised $53,000 of a $75,000 goal.
