Rain Fog/Mist 68°

Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

[email protected]

FOLLOW ON

Facebook Twitter Linkedin Instagram

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
Maryland Man Called 911 On Himself After Deadly MGM Casino Parking Garage Shooting: Police Maryland Man Called 911 On Himself After Deadly MGM Casino Parking Garage Shooting: Police
Maryland Man Called 911 On Himself After Deadly MGM Casino Parking Garage Shooting: Police The house doesn't always win. A Maryland man who shot and killed 33-year-old Alexandria resident Christopher Austin Jr. during an argument at the MGM National Harbor Hotel and Casino called 911 on himself after the deadly encounter, police say. Officers from the Prince George's County Police Department were called around 11:10 p.m. Thursday, June 25, following reports of a crash near Monument Avenue and MGM National Avenue involving a Slingshot autocycle. The investigation yielded unexpected results. Detectives determined both men were waiting in the exit line at the casino parking garage…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
News
Maryland Teen Gets Life In Prison For Grisly Murder Of Tropic Bay Gardens Owner Maryland Teen Gets Life In Prison For Grisly Murder Of Tropic Bay Gardens Owner
Maryland Teen Gets Life In Prison For Grisly Murder Of Tropic Bay Gardens Owner One of Maryland's most disturbing murder cases has reached its conclusion. A teenager who admitted killing a beloved garden center owner before stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the victim was sentenced on Friday, June 26, to life in prison with the possibility of parole. In Anne Arundel County, 19-year-old Davidsonville resident Jonah Michael Poole was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Cathleen Vitale after pleading guilty in March to first-degree murder in the May 2025 killing of 67-year-old Edward Stephen Koza, owner of Tropic Bay Water Gardens. Anne Arundel County Police …

SHARE

by Zak Failla
News
Rabid Raccoon Found In Harford County Sparks Alert For Possible Human, Pet Exposure Rabid Raccoon Found In Harford County Sparks Alert For Possible Human, Pet Exposure
Rabid Raccoon Found In Harford County Sparks Alert For Possible Human, Pet Exposure Don't pet that raccoon. Maryland health officials are warning anyone who may have come into contact with a rabid raccoon near Street to come forward after the animal tested positive for the virus. The Harford County Health Department announced on Friday, June 26, that a raccoon found near the 3600 block of Emory Church Road in Street tested positive for rabies, according to confirmation from the Maryland Department of Health. Officials said the raccoon may have exposed people or pets in the surrounding area before it was collected and tested. Simply seeing a raccoon is not cause for conce…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Fake IDs And Stolen Credit Cards Sink Alleged New Yorkers' Virginia Bank Scam, Sheriff Says Fake IDs And Stolen Credit Cards Sink Alleged New Yorkers' Virginia Bank Scam, Sheriff Says
Fake IDs And Stolen Credit Cards Sink Alleged New Yorkers' Virginia Bank Scam, Sheriff Says They brought fake IDs. Detectives say they also brought a plan. Three New Yorkers are accused of traveling to Virginia with forged identification cards and stolen credit cards in an alleged bank fraud scheme that unraveled inside a Stafford County Bank of America, according to the sheriff's office. The arrests came shortly after 3:10 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, when deputies were called to the Bank of America at Stafford Marketplace for a possible fraud attempt. By the time deputies arrived, three suspects had already been detained. Investigators say detectives found forged identification …

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Man Arrested After Maryland Woman Found Slashed To Death In Her Apartment: Police (UPDATED) Man Arrested After Maryland Woman Found Slashed To Death In Her Apartment: Police (UPDATED)
Man Arrested After Maryland Woman Found Slashed To Death In Her Apartment: Police (Updated) Days after a 37-year-old woman was found slashed to death in her Maryland apartment, her boyfriend has been charged with her murder, authorities announced on Friday. Sean Robinson, 39, has been charged in connection with the death of Ashlei Le Shae Jones, 37, who was found dead in their Gaithersburg home during a welfare check on Sunday, June 21, according to the Montgomery County Police Department. Shortly after 8:15 a.m. on Sunday, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service personnel were called to the 8500 block of Snouffer School Road, where they found Jones suffering from "cutting …

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Security Guard Catches Alleged Peeping Tom Looking Into Teen Girl's Window In Virginia: Police Security Guard Catches Alleged Peeping Tom Looking Into Teen Girl's Window In Virginia: Police
Security Guard Catches Alleged Peeping Tom Looking Into Teen Girl's Window In Virginia: Police A suspected Peeping Tom's late-night prowling ended in handcuffs after a security guard allegedly caught him peering into a teenage girl's bedroom window in Virginia, police said. The incident unfolded shortly before 11:20 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, in the 1400 block of Bayside Avenue in Woodbridge, where Prince William County Police responded to a report of a Peeping Tom. According to investigators, a security guard spotted 43-year-old Woodbridge resident Rene Alfredo Musun Melendez looking into the window of a home occupied by a 17-year-old girl. Responding officers detained Musun Melend…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Convicted Felon Pulled Gun At Virginia Elementary School Over Dog Dispute: Police Convicted Felon Pulled Gun At Virginia Elementary School Over Dog Dispute: Police
Convicted Felon Pulled Gun At Virginia Elementary School Over Dog Dispute: Police What started as a dispute over a dog ended with a gun allegedly being pulled outside a Virginia elementary school. The strange scene played out on Wednesday, June 24, at River Oaks Elementary School in Woodbridge, where officers from the Prince William County Police Department were called after a man allegedly threatened a security officer and displayed a gun before walking away from campus. According to investigators, shortly before 8:45 a.m., a school security officer approached 40-year-old Woodbridge resident Dewayne Andrew Williams as he walked his dog on school property. Then thi…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Traffic
Woman Killed In Parking Garage Crash Near Maryland Whole Foods Identified By Police Woman Killed In Parking Garage Crash Near Maryland Whole Foods Identified By Police
Woman Killed In Parking Garage Crash Near Maryland Whole Foods Identified By Police A trip to Whole Foods in Maryland ended tragically for a Potomac woman who was killed in a single-vehicle crash inside a Montgomery County parking garage. The crash happened shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 22, at the entrance to a parking garage in the 11300 block of Woodglen Drive in North Bethesda, where first responders were called for a reported collision involving a vehicle that struck a barrier. Montgomery County police have now identified the driver as Marjorie Rothschild, 76, of Potomac. Photos from the scene showed a blue Toyota RAV4 stopped inside the garage near the entr…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Mother Charged With Murder Months After 11-Month-Old Son's Death In DC: Police Mother Charged With Murder Months After 11-Month-Old Son's Death In DC: Police
Mother Charged With Murder Months After 11-Month-Old Son's Death In DC: Police For nearly a year, 11-month-old Jacari Mills' death was a homicide without an arrest. Now, police say his mother, Aniqua Kristinia Mills, is charged with his murder. The Virginia woman has been extradited to DC after authorities accused the 32-year-old Newport News resident of killing her infant son, the Metropolitan Police Department announced Friday, June 26. The case dates back to Aug. 2, 2025, when officers responded around 1:37 p.m. to the 1500 block of F Street NE for a report of an unconscious child. When officers arrived, they found Jacari unresponsive inside the home. DC Fire an…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Worst Game Of Air Guitar Ever: Instrument Hurled Through Police Cruiser Windshield Worst Game Of Air Guitar Ever: Instrument Hurled Through Police Cruiser Windshield
Worst Game Of Air Guitar Ever: Instrument Hurled Through Police Cruiser Windshield A flying guitar nearly became a deadly weapon. A Virginia police officer escaped injury early on Friday after someone hurled a guitar through the windshield of a moving patrol cruiser while the officer was responding to a call, authorities said. The attack happened shortly before 3 a.m. on June 26 near the 0 block of South King Street, according to the Leesburg Police Department. Investigators say the guitar was thrown from the area and slammed into the patrol vehicle, punching through the windshield and causing significant damage. Despite the violent impact, the officer was not hurt. "T…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Prev Page 1 of 3806 1 2 3 4 5 Next
1 - 10 of 38,054 articles