May 05--The man accused of opening fire on a passing car in Wisconsin, killing a Buffalo Grove woman, had been "acting extremely paranoid" since smoking marijuana a few days earlier, his brother told authorities, according to court records.
Zachary Hays, 20, of West Allis, Wis., was charged Wednesday with first-degree intentional homicide and recklessly endangering safety in connection with the shooting death of Tracy Czaczkowski, authorities said. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
Czaczkowski, 44, was in a car with her husband and two young children on their way home from the Wisconsin Dells on Sunday when police said another motorist shot at their car, striking her in the neck. She was pronounced dead Tuesday.
In the criminal complaint filed against Hays in Sauk County, Wis., on Wednesday, investigators said the man's brother, Jeremy Hays, told them that Zachary had smoked marijuana on April 27 and "had been acting extremely paranoid ever since."
Jeremy Hays, who was with his brother Sunday, told police that he had been concerned for his own safety since Zachary was carrying a long-barreled .45-caliber revolver and had threatened to kill Jeremy and another brother if they left him, the document states.
Authorities have said the suspect in the Czaczkowski shooting was also wanted in the previous fatal shooting of a man in West Allis, though no charges against Hays in that case had been announced.
The court records say Zachary Hays and his two brothers had driven to the Wisconsin Dells, where they stopped at a gas station, and then headed onto Interstate 90/94 southbound, where Zachary Hays began driving erratically, "flipping people off" and pointing his gun at cars as they drove by.
Zachary Hays was especially paranoid about cars with tinted windows and was "freaking out" about the tinted windows on the Czaczkowskis' car before slowing down to let it pass and opening fire, according to the police account of Jeremy Hays' statement.
Police said Hays struck the Czaczkowskis' car three times. Czaczkowski's husband, Greg, pulled over quickly and called for help.
Other drivers also called 911, and officers from multiple agencies chased the Chevrolet Blazer that Zachary Hays was driving into Dane County, where deputies stopped the SUV with a spike strip.
Zachary Hays got out of his car holding a revolver and ignored orders to drop it before two Columbia County deputies shot him, authorities said.
Hays remained under guard in police custody at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics in Madison, where investigators said he was being treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.
Jeremy Hays, 30, and his 34-year-old brother, whose name was not released and who police said had limited cognitive ability, were taken into custody, but authorities did not announce charges against them.
The events leading to the shooting began about 7 a.m. Sunday, when police in West Allis, outside Milwaukee, received a report of a man forcing his way into two apartments. Responding officers found 42-year-old Gabriel Sanchez fatally shot, authorities said. Police said Hays also had made threats regarding a member of Epikos Church in Milwaukee, which canceled its Sunday evening services.
Greg Czaczkowski has worked for 11 years for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, but police said the shooting had nothing to do with that.
Dennis Wichern, special agent in charge of the DEA's Chicago field division, told reporters that the family is grieving its loss.
"This is a tragic senseless incident, a tragedy that's occurred," he said. "The family's pulling together as families do. A number of family members have come from out of town, and they're preparing themselves and working through this crisis that they're facing right now.
"Tracy was a great woman, a proud mother of two great kids, she had a great husband who loved her very much, and the family misses her terribly," he said. "They want to thank everybody for the support and the love they're showing and their prayers."
A GoFundMe page set up for the family reported raising about $41,000 from 836 donors.
Wayne Ebersohl, a brother of Tracy Czaczkowski, said his sister worked as a dental hygienist, and was one of seven children in the family. Her children are 8 and 5.
"We're feeling a mixture of shock and sadness," Ebersohl said Tuesday. "She was an awesome, awesome mother, wife and daughter."
rmccoppin@tribpub.com
