An 83-year-old man from Ohio is set to spend his final years incarcerated after fatally shooting a 61-year-old Uber driver outside his home. The tragic incident stemmed from a misunderstanding, as both the shooter and his victim fell prey to the same phone scam.

William J. Brock was sentenced to 21 years to life by Judge Douglas M. Rastatter at the Clark County Common Pleas Court. The sentencing follows a jury’s decision finding Brock guilty of multiple charges, including felony murder, felony assault, and kidnapping, related to the 2024 shooting death of Loletha Hall. Brock’s sentence includes 15 years to life for the murder charge, with an additional six years for firearms specifications, to be served consecutively, as per court documents obtained by Law&Crime.

The sentencing was initially set for Friday but was postponed when one of Brock’s defense attorneys fainted during the proceedings.

Authorities have yet to identify the scammers responsible for the tragic chain of events, a point highlighted by prosecutors after the trial concluded.

“Both families have suffered immeasurable loss due to this incident, and there are no winners,” stated Clark County Prosecutor Daniel Driscoll in a statement last month. “The unfortunate reality is that the scammers who orchestrated this have not been apprehended. We hope that one day the FBI will bring them to justice, allowing us to prosecute them here in Clark County for their actions.”

The deadly encounter occurred on March 25, 2024, outside Brock’s South Charleston home at 11:18 a.m. On that day, Hall, a veteran Uber driver, had accepted what she believed was a routine assignment to pick up a package for delivery at Brock’s residence, under the assumption it was a legitimate request from the ride-sharing service.

Unbeknownst to Hall, the same person or people who directed her to Brock’s home had also contacted Brock, threatening to kill his family unless he gave $12,000 cash to a woman matching Hall’s description.

Footage from a dashcam inside Hall’s Acura shows her approaching Brock’s home, getting out of her car and engaging with Brock before attempting to leave the home. But Brock trailed her closely, pointing his .22 caliber revolver at her and at one point, taking her phone away from her so she could not make any outgoing calls.

“Ms. Hall, unfamiliar with the circumstances which had occurred, arrived and made contact with Mr. Brock,” investigators wrote in an incident report.

Hall made no demands of Brock, according to police, and only asked him about the package she was meant to pick up. Brock started making demands about her identity and that’s when he took her phone and refused to allow her to leave. During the encounter, Brock “made no attempts to summon help or call 911 for assistance,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

“Ms. Hall attempted to re-enter her vehicle to leave the property and escape, during which time she was shot by Mr. Brock, and Mr. Brock was injured in the subsequent scuffle at the door of Ms. Hall’s vehicle,” the incident report said. “Further exchange took place between them, after which Mr. Brock shot Ms. Hall again, and after further exchange, shot her again a third, separate, time.”

It was not until after the shooting that Brock called 911. During the call, Hall could reportedly be heard in the background repeatedly saying, “Help me.”

While both Brock and Hall were victims of the scammers, Brock’s claim of self-defense ultimately fell apart because Hall was defenseless and posed no threat before he shot her six times.

“Objectively, a reasonable person would not shoot a defenseless woman multiple times to protect themselves from the words of a scammer,” Assistant Clark County Prosecutor Kadawni Scott told jurors during his opening statements, according to the Springfield News-Sun. “The act doesn’t justify the act of taking a life of another, because words scared him?”