Conrad man charged with first-degree murder in Hudson shooting

By Danielle McCulley 

Deputies with the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Conrad man Monday morning on a first degree murder charge connected to a 2024 shooting in Hudson. 

Jacob Leigh Hamilton, 51, was taken into custody without incident at about 9:20 a.m. Sept. 22, according to Sheriff Nathan Neff. Hamilton is being held in the Black Hawk County Jail on a $1 million bond. 

The charge stems from a July 14, 2024, incident at 322 S. Washington St., Apartment 13, in Hudson.  Officers were dispatched around 3:40 a.m. for a report of a shooting. When they arrived, they found a man with multiple gunshot wounds. 

The victim, identified as 35-year-old Zachary Michael Drinovsky, was still alive when officers arrived but later died from his injuries. 

Hamilton admitted to officers at the scene that he had shot Drinovsky following an altercation, claiming it was in self-defense. 

The case was investigated by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Hudson Police Department and Waterloo Police Department. The findings were forwarded to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, which reviewed the case. 

According to the Attorney General’s Office, the evidence indicated Hamilton “re-armed, re-engaged outside, and intentionally killed the victim willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation, without legal justification.” 

A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.