Crime & Safety

Major Case Squad Called in to Investigate Who Wanted Bloomfield Hills Attorney Dead

Investigators are looking at David N. Zacks' life, the cases he handled and "anything that might give us an idea of why someone would want to kill him."

Authorities are taking a closer look at the life of a prominent attorney who was shot several times in what is being described as a gang-style hit late Wednesday night to determine who might have wanted him dead.

Investigators from several several area police agencies are working the puzzling case with the Bloomfield Hills Public Safety Department, The Detroit News reports

David N. Zacks, 57, was shot several times by a man posing as a police officer who demanded entry. When Zacks refused to answer the door and said he was calling police, the gunman fired five times through the wooden door of Zacks’ upscale home on Woodwind Drive, then fled in a dark-colored vehicle.

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Police are convinced the attack on Zack, a partner in the Birmingham law firm of Ishbia & Gagleard PC, wasn’t random.

"We are leaving no stone unturned," Bloomfield Hills Police Chief David Hendrickson told the newspaper. "We don't feel this is random and are looking at his (Zacks’) life — his activities, all his associations, cases, anything that might give us an idea of why someone would want to kill him."

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Neither Zacks nor his family had any inkling they were in danger, Hendrickson said. They hadn't received any death threats.

The Major Crimes Assistance Team, which includes investigators from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and police departments serving Auburn Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Clawson, Rochester and Troy, is assisting in the probe.

Zacks specializes in white-collar criminal defense and complex commercial litigation, according to a profile on his law firm's web site. He represented the city of Detroit in more than 50 liability and civil rights cases from the 1990s through 2004.

A Birmingham attorney who worked with Zacks for several years told The Detroit News the case is “puzzling and frightening.”

Whether the attack was related to Zacks’ law practice is “remains to be seen,” attorney

Robert S. Harrison said, adding there is great speculation in the area about the crime.

“Everyone is talking about this and it is very disturbing,” he told the newspaper.

Zacks is in stable condition at an undisclosed hospital.


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