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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
Maryland Candy Scare Takes Unexpected Turn After Man In White Van Calls Police On Himself Maryland Candy Scare Takes Unexpected Turn After Man In White Van Calls Police On Himself
Maryland Candy Scare Takes Unexpected Turn After Man In White Van Calls Police On Himself Every parent's heart skipped a beat. A report of children running from a man offering candy from a white van sent a Maryland community scrambling on Tuesday, triggering a viral police alert that ended just hours later with an unexpected phone call from the very man investigators were trying to find. The scare unfolded around noon on June 30 in the area of Cambridge Court in Taneytown, where police were called after children reported an older man in a white work or camper-style van offered them candy before driving away when the kids ran, according to the Taneytown Police Department. Fea…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Maryland Man Collected Gold Bars From Virginia Seniors In 'Apple Support' Scam, Sheriff Says Maryland Man Collected Gold Bars From Virginia Seniors In 'Apple Support' Scam, Sheriff Says
Maryland Man Collected Gold Bars From Virginia Seniors In 'Apple Support' Scam, Sheriff Says It started with a pop-up warning. It ended with strangers walking away with gold bars. A Maryland man is behind bars after investigators say he helped carry out an elaborate scam that convinced elderly Virginia residents that their life savings were under attack, tricking them into converting their money into gold before someone arrived to collect it. Gaithersburg resident Junjie Wu, 29, was arrested by the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office and is behind bars following an investigation into the gold bar scheme, authorities announced. Specifically, Wu was charged with: Obtaining money by f…

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by Zak Failla
News
Bullet Whizzed Past Maryland Man's Ear During Park Showdown With GF's Stepfather: Prosecutors Bullet Whizzed Past Maryland Man's Ear During Park Showdown With GF's Stepfather: Prosecutors
Bullet Whizzed Past Maryland Man's Ear During Park Showdown With GF's Stepfather: Prosecutors A family squabble nearly turned deadly in Maryland when a convicted felon broke out a gun and began firing at his step-daughter's boyfriend during an argument. Salisbury resident Arnold Miles has been sentenced to 20 years behind bars after being found guilty by a jury earlier this year following a strange domestic incident at the Salisbury City Park, according to the Wicomico County State's Attorney's Office. Miles's peculiar path to prison began on Jan. 22, 2025, one day after he exchanged text messages with his step-daughter and her boyfriend. According to prosecutors, "the boyfriend an…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Maryland Mother Held Son's Ashes As Delaware Man Who Killed Him Learned His Fate Maryland Mother Held Son's Ashes As Delaware Man Who Killed Him Learned His Fate
Maryland Mother Held Son's Ashes As Delaware Man Who Killed Him Learned His Fate All she had left of her son fit inside a box. Nearly four years after a Maryland man was gunned down inside his Elkton home, his mother carried his ashes into a Cecil County courtroom as the man who admitted killing him was sentenced to spend the next five decades behind bars. Mikal Djuan Keller, 40, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and using a firearm during the commission of a violent felony in the August 2022 killing of John Benjamin Dorsey Jr., according to the Cecil County State's Attorney's Office on Tuesday, June 30. Shortly before 1:45 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, police…

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by Zak Failla
News
Deported Woman Who Slipped Back Into Maryland After Knife Attack Learns Federal Prison Fate Deported Woman Who Slipped Back Into Maryland After Knife Attack Learns Federal Prison Fate
Deported Woman Who Slipped Back Into Maryland After Knife Attack Learns Federal Prison Fate She made it back into Maryland. She won't leave the same way. A woman who was deported from the United States, illegally returned to Maryland, and later admitted to a violent knife attack in Frederick has now been sentenced in federal court for re-entering the country without permission. Vanessa Yalixa Munoz-Baque, 31, received six months in federal prison Monday after pleading guilty to illegally returning to the United States following her August 2023 deportation to Ecuador, according to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland. Her return to Maryland unraveled less than a …

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by Zak Failla
News
Distinctive Tattoo Leads To Maryland Burglar's Downfall After Home Break-In: Prosecutors Distinctive Tattoo Leads To Maryland Burglar's Downfall After Home Break-In: Prosecutors
Distinctive Tattoo Leads To Maryland Burglar's Downfall After Home Break-In: Prosecutors One tattoo helped crack a burglary spree in Maryland. Now, a man with diverse tastes is heading to prison for two decades. Germantown resident Todd Dixon-Latkovski, 53, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison following a residential burglary in Frederick County last year, according to the state's attorney's office. On Oct. 28, 2025, officers from the Frederick Police Department were called to investigate a reported burglary, when a homeowner reported waking that morning to discover multiple items missing. Among the missing items were credit cards, gift cards, a wallet, personal…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Girl Killed After Falling Into Path Of Dump Truck While Riding Bike In Maryland (DEVELOPING) Girl Killed After Falling Into Path Of Dump Truck While Riding Bike In Maryland (DEVELOPING)
Girl Killed After Falling Into Path Of Dump Truck While Riding Bike In Maryland (Developing) One bad fall turned fatal. A young girl riding her bike in Maryland was killed Tuesday afternoon after she fell into the path of a dump truck, police said. The crash happened around 1:55 p.m. Tuesday, June 30, in the 2000 block of Daniels Road in Ellicott City, according to Howard County police. Investigators said the girl was riding her bicycle in the roadway when she fell into the path of a 2004 Sterling LT9500 dump truck. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The dump truck driver was not injured and remained at the scene as officers launched an investigation. Daniels Road remained c…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Driver Turns Himself In Weeks After Fatal Virginia Hit-Run That Killed Pedestrian: Police Driver Turns Himself In Weeks After Fatal Virginia Hit-Run That Killed Pedestrian: Police
Driver Turns Himself In Weeks After Fatal Virginia Hit-Run That Killed Pedestrian: Police Hein Quang Le didn't stop after the crash. More than a month later, police say he finally stopped running. The 63-year-old Arlington man has been charged in connection with a fatal hit-and-run that claimed the life of a 60-year-old pedestrian in Fairfax County after he turned himself in to detectives. Le surrendered at the Mason District Station on Sunday, June 28, where Fairfax County detectives interviewed him before charging him with felony hit-and-run in the death of Jose Jimenez. The crash happened around 1:22 a.m. on Tuesday, May 26, at the intersection of Arlington Boulevard an…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
'I Just Talked To You Last Night': Southern Maryland Man, 27, Killed In Early Morning Crash 'I Just Talked To You Last Night': Southern Maryland Man, 27, Killed In Early Morning Crash
'I Just Talked To You Last Night': Southern Maryland Man, 27, Killed In Early Morning Crash He was alive the night before. By Tuesday morning, friends were struggling to believe 27-year-old Malik Javonn Somerville was gone after a single-vehicle crash claimed his life in Maryland. The Chaptico resident was killed around 7:40 a.m. on Tuesday, June 30, after his pickup truck left Thompson Corner Road in Mechanicsville, according to the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office. When first responders arrived in the 27500 block of Thompson Corner Road, they found Somerville trapped inside his green pickup truck after it had crashed.  He was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Girl Escapes Alleged Kidnapping Attempt Near Maryland Pond, Man Arrested: Police Girl Escapes Alleged Kidnapping Attempt Near Maryland Pond, Man Arrested: Police
Girl Escapes Alleged Kidnapping Attempt Near Maryland Pond, Man Arrested: Police A Maryland man who violently assaulted a young girl over the weekend has been tracked down and taken into custody, authorities announced. Conowingo resident Christopher Jene Lane, 32, has been arrested in connection with the June 27 Majors Choice incident, in which he attacked a child, according to the Bel Air Police Department. At around 4:40 p.m. on Saturday, officers were called to the area of Majors Choice Drive and Grayson Square, where there was a report of an assault involving an underage girl. Police say the girl was walking along the sidewalk near the community pond when she passe…

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by Zak Failla
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