Benjamin Ward, a 41-year-old male from Toledo, OH, tragically died on February 3, 2019, from a gunshot wound sustained inside his home. He had just returned from a Super Bowl party when he was fatally shot. The incident occurred in the 1900 block of Broadstone Road in west Toledo. Ward was found inside his home suffering from the gunshot wound and was pronounced dead later that night at the hospital.
Following the incident, the Toledo Police Department launched an investigation.
Detectives identified Willie Hall, a 32-year-old male, as a suspect in the case. Hall was already in custody on other charges when he was indicted for aggravated murder and aggravated burglary in connection with Ward's death. He was held on a $1 million bond and faced a pre-trial hearing on August 22, 2019.
The case went to trial, and Hall was convicted of aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, and burglary. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. The court found that the evidence presented, including statements from Ward and witness testimonies, supported the charges. The trial court also ruled that the two indictments, one for the January 11, 2019 burglary and the other for the February 3, 2019 murder, could be joined for trial as they stemmed from a common scheme or continuous course of conduct.
This tragic event marked one of the many homicides in Toledo that year, highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by the community and law enforcement in addressing violent crime.
