The elderly Ohio man who allegedly shot and killed an innocent Uber driver after they were both caught in a scam appeared dazed and confused when police arrived at the scene, according to new bodycam video.
William Brock, 81, sighed in relief as Clark County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at his home on March 25 after he allegedly shot dead 61-year-old Loletha Hall, WKEF reported.
He appears exasperated in the footage as he tries to explain to the deputies that he was the victim of a scam demanding money to free a nephew in jail — that he feared that he and his family would be harmed if he did not fork over $12,000 to Hall, who had been called to pick up a package from the home.
“I’m sure glad to see you guys out here cause I’ve been on this phone for a couple of hours with this guy saying I had a nephew in jail, had a wreck in Charleston and he just kept hanging on, needing bond money and this woman was supposed to,” Brock tries to explain to the officers, still appearing dazed by what happened.
“So it was a scam,” one of the deputies interrupts.
“Yeah I figured. I kept getting different names and different stories out of him,” Brock replies as he’s instructed to the back of a police car.
Dashcam video from Hall’s vehicle showed how Brock confronted the Uber driver with a handgun, with Hall backing away before they disappeared off camera.
Hall, who did not know about the threats to Brock, could be heard pleading for Brock to stop or else she would call the police, with Brock demanding her phone before allegedly firing at her.
Police said Brock refused to let Hall leave and only called 9/11 after shooting her.
“Hall, suffering from medical conditions and unarmed, 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,” a sheriff’s office spokesperson told WHIO in a statement.
“Due to there being no active threat presented by Ms. Hall at any time during the encounter, and Mr. Brock’s failure to contact authorities for assistance while brandishing a firearm, during which he fired at and struck Ms. Hall multiple times, he was arrested and charged with murder,” the rep added.
Along with the murder charge, Brock was also booked for felonious assault and kidnapping, with the 81-year-old man pleading not guilty in Clark County court on Wednesday.
He was released on $200,000 bail.
Investigators have reportedly tracked the scammer’s call to Canada, but believe he was using a burner phone.