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Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

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Equal parts Lois Lane, J. Jonah Jameson and Vicki Vale, Zak! has traveled from coast-to-coast covering small and big town community news in both in print and online for nearly a decade since his graduation from the award-winning Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College in 2010.

Before settling into the Hudson Valley, Zak! previously spent time in the New York Daily News newsroom and worked for hyperlocal digital news outlets on Long Island. He wrote sports for The Ithacan and The Ithaca Journal before taking his talents to the Pacific Northwest, where he served as the sports editor at the Shoshone News-Press until heading back east to work with Daily Voice.

Zak Failla's Contributions

Police & Fire
Armed, Dangerous Suspect Sought In Fatal Shooting Of Towson University Student In Baltimore Armed, Dangerous Suspect Sought In Fatal Shooting Of Towson University Student In Baltimore
Armed, Dangerous Suspect Sought In Fatal Shooting Of Towson University Student In Baltimore The man Baltimore County detectives say gunned down a 22-year-old Towson University student in broad daylight is still on the loose. Now they're asking the public to help find him. On Thursday, June 18, investigators identified 33-year-old Reginald T. Gray Jr. as the suspect wanted in connection with the Friday, June 5, killing of Nasir Majied, who was fatally shot along York Road. Nearly two weeks after the shooting, detectives say Gray remains at large. Reginald T. Gray Jr. Baltimore Police Department Authorities released Gray's photo along with images of the silver 2007 Nissan …

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by Zak Failla
Schools
Brooke Grove Elementary Student One Of Two Nationwide To Earn AAA Honor For Saving Child Brooke Grove Elementary Student One Of Two Nationwide To Earn AAA Honor For Saving Child
Brooke Grove Elementary Student One Of Two Nationwide To Earn AAA Honor For Saving Child Not many Maryland fifth graders can boast about earning national accolades. Brooke Grove Elementary School student Matthew Geiger laughs at that idea. The safety patrol member in Montgomery County was recognized as one of only two students in the country to receive a prestigious national AAA honor after stepping in during a potentially dangerous situation outside his school earlier this year. Back in March, during a busy morning arrival at Brooke Grove Elementary, Matthew spotted a distracted younger student walking toward the path of an oncoming vehicle. While other students kept moving,…

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by Zak Failla
News
DC Gunman Carjacked Victim 'For Sport,' Left Death Threat 'Ringing In His Ears': Feds DC Gunman Carjacked Victim 'For Sport,' Left Death Threat 'Ringing In His Ears': Feds
DC Gunman Carjacked Victim 'For Sport,' Left Death Threat 'Ringing In His Ears': Feds Avery Ricardo Robinson didn't get far after a violent carjacking in Northwest DC last year. Now, he's heading to prison. The 26-year-old District resident has been sentenced to 60 months in federal prison following a harrowing carjacking that left his victim scarred, according to the US Attorney's Office. According to court documents, on Sept. 20, 2025, Robinson rode his bicycle up to a 2017 Nissan Altima near the 1400 block of Park Road NW, pulled out a weapon, and demanded his victim's belongings, including his car keys. Robinson forced the victim at gunpoint to throw his cellphone to t…

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by Zak Failla
News
Where Is George? Odenton Man Missing After Leaving For Glen Burnie Gym (DEVELOPING) Where Is George? Odenton Man Missing After Leaving For Glen Burnie Gym (DEVELOPING)
Where Is George? Odenton Man Missing After Leaving For Glen Burnie Gym (Developing) A Maryland family is desperately searching for a 46-year-old man who vanished nearly a week ago after leaving home for a routine trip to the gym and never arriving. George Shorter Jr., of Odenton, was last seen on the morning of Thursday, June 11, when he left his home headed to Gold's Gym in Glen Burnie, according to Anne Arundel County Police and family members. What happened next remains a mystery. Shorter never made it to the gym, family members said. He also never showed up for work and has not been heard from since leaving home. His disappearance has prompted a growing search effort…

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by Zak Failla
News
Murderer Convicted Of Carrying Fentanyl, Gun Caught In Wild Baltimore Shootout Learns Fate: DOJ Murderer Convicted Of Carrying Fentanyl, Gun Caught In Wild Baltimore Shootout Learns Fate: DOJ
Murderer Convicted Of Carrying Fentanyl, Gun Caught In Wild Baltimore Shootout Learns Fate: DOJ A convicted murderer in Maryland who was involved in an East Baltimore shootout is heading back to prison, federal authorities announced. James Beverly, Jr., 40, has been sentenced to 54 months in prison for his role in a violent shooting that played out like a scene out of The Wire in Baltimore two years ago. According to court documents, in February 2024, Beverly stood on an East Baltimore corner with his jacket and pants pockets filled with fentanyl and cocaine base packaged for distribution. At the time, he was also in possession of a loaded semi-automatic pistol, which he is proh…

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by Zak Failla
News
Kids Walked Through Alleged Crack Market Near DC School For Nearly Two Years, Feds Say Kids Walked Through Alleged Crack Market Near DC School For Nearly Two Years, Feds Say
Kids Walked Through Alleged Crack Market Near DC School For Nearly Two Years, Feds Say Children can be seen walking through a group of alleged drug dealers in surveillance photos released Wednesday after federal agents arrested 14 people accused of running an open-air crack cocaine operation steps from a Southeast DC elementary school. The photos, released by the US Attorney's Office, show children passing through the area near 4th Street SE and Chesapeake Street SE, where prosecutors say members of the conspiracy routinely sold crack cocaine in broad daylight about 300 feet from Hendley Elementary School. The drug trafficking operation allegedly operated near the inters…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
Teachers Stabbed During Student Attack At Roye-Williams Elementary School: Sheriff (UPDATED) Teachers Stabbed During Student Attack At Roye-Williams Elementary School: Sheriff (UPDATED)
Teachers Stabbed During Student Attack At Roye-Williams Elementary School: Sheriff (Updated) Two teachers injured during a student attack at a Maryland elementary school were stabbed during the incident, according to a new update from authorities. The attack unfolded around 3:33 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16, during afternoon dismissal at Roye-Williams Elementary School in Havre de Grace, the Harford County Sheriff's Office said on Wednesday. When deputies arrived, they found two school employees suffering from injuries consistent with being stabbed. Evidence collected at the scene supported responding deputies' initial assessment that an attack had occurred, according to investigators.…

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
Cancer Couldn't Keep Her Away: Virginia Community Mourns Trailblazing Captain Becky Jones Cancer Couldn't Keep Her Away: Virginia Community Mourns Trailblazing Captain Becky Jones
Cancer Couldn't Keep Her Away: Virginia Community Mourns Trailblazing Captain Becky Jones Even cancer couldn't keep Capt. Becky Jones away from the people she spent more than two decades serving in Virginia. The Orange County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday, June 17, that Jones, a 26-year veteran of the agency and one of its most respected leaders, died after a battle with cancer. For many in the community, Jones was known as a trailblazer.  She became the first female captain in the history of the sheriff's office, the agency's first female SWAT team member, and its first female firearms instructor. But those who worked alongside her say her legacy reaches far beyon…

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by Zak Failla
News
139 Pounds Of Khat Hidden In Ethiopian ‘Spices’ Shipment Seized At Dulles Airport: CBP 139 Pounds Of Khat Hidden In Ethiopian ‘Spices’ Shipment Seized At Dulles Airport: CBP
139 Pounds Of Khat Hidden In Ethiopian ‘Spices’ Shipment Seized At Dulles Airport: CBP A shipment of “spices” from Ethiopia had a leafy secret inside when it reached Virginia: 139 pounds of khat, federal officials said. US Customs and Border Protection officers seized the shipment on Thursday, June 4, at Washington Dulles International Airport in Sterling after agriculture specialists inspected air cargo bound for Sacramento, California, officials announced on Wednesday, June 17. The haul had an estimated street value of about $17,000 and was later destroyed, according to CBP. The shipment was listed as a variety of spices and included 102 boxes, officials said. Inside, 10 b…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Brazilian National Caught Driving Semi On I-81 In Virginia Without Commercial License: ICE Brazilian National Caught Driving Semi On I-81 In Virginia Without Commercial License: ICE
Brazilian National Caught Driving Semi On I-81 In Virginia Without Commercial License: ICE A Brazilian national living in the US illegally was arrested after ICE agents discovered he was driving a tractor-trailer on I-81 in Virginia without the commercial license required to operate it, federal officials announced. Lins Dos Santos-Melo was taken into custody during an enforcement operation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations in the Harrisonburg area, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Federal officials said Dos Santos-Melo had a valid Massachusetts driver's license but did not possess a commercial driver's license, despite operating a tractor-trailer t…

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by Zak Failla
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