Possible insanity defense in interstate shooting case?
The attorney for a suburban Milwaukee man charged in the fatal shooting of a Buffalo Grove woman along a Wisconsin interstate said Thursday he's not ruling out an insanity defense.
Zachary Hays, 20, made an initial court appearance Thursday afternoon in Sauk County, Wisconsin, where he's charged with one count of first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety.
Prosecutors say Hays fired three shots at 44-year-old Tracy Czaczkowski's car May 1 as she and her family returned from the Wisconsin Dells on Interstate 90/94. One of the shots struck Czaczkowski in the neck.
Defense attorney Jon Helland told reporters outside court that his client obviously has "significant mental health issues" and he's exploring all avenues for defense, according to The Associated Press.
Hays also is charged with first-degree reckless homicide in the death of neighbor Gabriel Sanchez in West Allis, Wisconsin, the morning of the interstate shooting.
During a June 3 court appearance for that case in Milwaukee County, another defense attorney told a judge there is reason to believe Hays is not mentally competent to stand trial. The judge ordered a competency examination, which is due back to the court June 22.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the Sauk County district attorney, Hays was paranoid about vehicles with tinted windows - the apparent reason he fired on the Czaczkowskis' BMW sedan.
Hays had been driving erratically on eastbound Interstate 90/94, making obscene gestures at drivers from his Chevrolet Blazer and pointing a long-barreled .45-caliber revolver at other vehicles, court documents state.
He is next due in Sauk County court at 9 a.m. July 15, for a pretrial conference.
He could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted on the homicide charges. He is being held on $500,000 bail.
• Daily Herald news services contributed to this report.