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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
Lexington Park Apartment Complex Double Shooting Ends With Attempted Murder Arrest For Teen Lexington Park Apartment Complex Double Shooting Ends With Attempted Murder Arrest For Teen
Lexington Park Apartment Complex Double Shooting Ends With Attempted Murder Arrest For Teen A Maryland man has been arrested in connection with a double shooting at a Lexington Park apartment complex earlier this month, the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office announced Friday. Detectives arrested Deshawn Swein Campbell, 18, of Dameron, on Thursday, June 25, following an investigation into the June 13 shooting in the 46000 block of Hilton Drive. Deputies were called to the apartment complex after receiving reports of multiple shots fired. When they arrived, they found two victims suffering from gunshot wounds. Investigators identified Campbell as the suspected shooter and charged h…

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by Zak Failla
News
IEDs, Sawed-Off Shotgun Found During Virginia Eviction; Springfield Man Convicted IEDs, Sawed-Off Shotgun Found During Virginia Eviction; Springfield Man Convicted
IEDs, Sawed-Off Shotgun Found During Virginia Eviction; Springfield Man Convicted A routine eviction in Virginia took an explosive turn in Fairfax County when deputies uncovered IEDs and a sawed-off shotgun inside a home, likely putting him at risk of federal prison. Amer Taisir Zghailat Qaralleh, 42, a dual US-Jordanian citizen, has been convicted on multiple weapons charges after he was busted with four explosive devices and the shotgun in a Springfield home, according to authorities. Court records state that on March 18, 2025, deputies from the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office served a writ of eviction against Qaralleh at the Springfield home. During the sea…

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by Zak Failla
News
Ex-Intel Official From Virginia Gets Prison For Sexually Abusing Women At Conference: Feds Ex-Intel Official From Virginia Gets Prison For Sexually Abusing Women At Conference: Feds
Ex-Intel Official From Virginia Gets Prison For Sexually Abusing Women At Conference: Feds He was a retired Army colonel and senior intelligence official. Now, he is headed to federal prison. A Virginia man from Stafford County was sentenced Thursday, June 25, in Newport News to 25 years behind bars for sexually abusing two women during an intelligence conference at a government facility in Williamsburg, federal prosecutors announced. Michael A. Dillard, 63, was convicted of sexual abuse, aggravated sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact, and making false statements, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. At the time of the assaults, Dillard wa…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Teens Charged As Adults In Fatal Brentwood Shooting Of Hyattsville Teen They Knew: Police Teens Charged As Adults In Fatal Brentwood Shooting Of Hyattsville Teen They Knew: Police
Teens Charged As Adults In Fatal Brentwood Shooting Of Hyattsville Teen They Knew: Police Two teenagers have been identified and arrested nearly two weeks after Ruben Arevalo Saavedra, 16, was gunned down in Maryland. A pair of 16-year-old Mount Rainier residents are being charged as adults for their alleged roles in the fatal Brentwood shooting of the Hyattsville resident earlier this month, the Prince George's County Police Department announced on Thursday. Officers were called shortly before 5 p.m. on June 12 to the 3700 block of Shepherd Street to investigate a reported shooting. Upon arrival, they found Arevalo Saavedra suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The Hyattsvil…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
DC Man Tried To Run After Fatally Stabbing Stranger During Oxon Hill Argument: Police DC Man Tried To Run After Fatally Stabbing Stranger During Oxon Hill Argument: Police
DC Man Tried To Run After Fatally Stabbing Stranger During Oxon Hill Argument: Police A District man is facing multiple murder charges in Maryland after an argument with a stranger turned deadly, police say. Joseph Key, 38, has been arrested and charged in connection with the fatal stabbing of 44-year-old Oxon Hill resident Corye Trapp late on Wednesday afternoon. Shortly after 6:30 p.m. on June 24, officers were called to the unit block of block of Audrey Lane, where they found Trapp outside of a business suffering from multiple stab wounds. He was rushed to an area hospital, where he later died from his injuries. During the investigation, Key was identified as a suspect …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Teens Who Shot 18-Year-Old Found Dead Near Manassas Mobile Home Community Charged: Police Teens Who Shot 18-Year-Old Found Dead Near Manassas Mobile Home Community Charged: Police
Teens Who Shot 18-Year-Old Found Dead Near Manassas Mobile Home Community Charged: Police Two teenagers are now charged with murder after an 18-year-old Virginia man was gunned down, staggered away from the gunfire, and collapsed in a nearby backyard, Prince William County Police announced. The arrests came on Thursday, June 25, nearly 10 days after 18-year-old Luis Angel Chavez was shot inside the Bull Run Mobile Home Community in Manassas. Manassas native Markiss Alexander Medrano, and a 16-year-old suspect, are facing serious charges following a deadly shooting that shocked a Northern Virginia neighborhood earlier this month. According to the Prince William County Police Dep…

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
'Thank You For Loving My Son': Baltimore Mother Mourns Brandon McMurrin Jr. After Death At 19 'Thank You For Loving My Son': Baltimore Mother Mourns Brandon McMurrin Jr. After Death At 19
'Thank You For Loving My Son': Baltimore Mother Mourns Brandon McMurrin Jr. After Death At 19 She is seeing every message. She just cannot answer them all. A Maryland mother is trying to thank the people holding her family up after the sudden death of her 19-year-old son, Brandon Da'von McMurrin Jr., who was struck by a vehicle while walking home from work on Saturday, June 20. In Baltimore, Candace Brock is living through the week no parent can prepare for. Her son is gone. The calls keep coming. The texts. The prayers. The shares. The donations. The posts from friends asking others to help her lay the teen to rest. And through it all, Brock said she wants people to know she sees…

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by Zak Failla
News
100+ MPH Driver Who Killed 3 While Fleeing Police Learns Fate In Rock Creek Parkway Crash 100+ MPH Driver Who Killed 3 While Fleeing Police Learns Fate In Rock Creek Parkway Crash
100+ MPH Driver Who Killed 3 While Fleeing Police Learns Fate In Rock Creek Parkway Crash The woman responsible for a triple-fatal crash on Rock Creek Parkway more than three years ago will spend decades in federal prison. District resident Nakita Walker, 45, was convicted by a Superior Court jury on Monday, April 6, for the March 2023 deaths of Mohamed Kamara, Jonathan Alberto Cabrera Mendez, and Olvin Josue Torres Velasquez. On Thursday, June 25, Walker was sentenced to 29 years in prison for her role in their deaths. Shortly before 1:45 a.m. on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, officers responded to a reported crash on the parkway near P Street NW when a Honda sedan crashed he…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Man Walks Into Traffic, Then Threatens Mother, 8-Year-Old During Springfield Robbery: Police Man Walks Into Traffic, Then Threatens Mother, 8-Year-Old During Springfield Robbery: Police
Man Walks Into Traffic, Then Threatens Mother, 8-Year-Old During Springfield Robbery: Police A man who threatened a mother and her 8-year-old daughter when they refused to give him a ride in Northern Virginia has been linked to an even stranger incident an hour earlier, police say. The Fairfax County Police Department released surveillance photos on Thursday afternoon of a man who went on a bizarre crime spree in Springfield earlier this month. According to investigators, at around 9:10 p.m. on Sunday, June 14, officers were called to the 5200 block of Montgomery Street for a reported robbery. Police say the man approached a woman and her daughter and asked for a ride. When she de…

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by Zak Failla
News
Possibly Rabid Coyote That Attacked Great Falls Resident, Dogs Still On The Loose: Officials Possibly Rabid Coyote That Attacked Great Falls Resident, Dogs Still On The Loose: Officials
Possibly Rabid Coyote That Attacked Great Falls Resident, Dogs Still On The Loose: Officials Something vicious came out of the woods, then vanished. Maryland residents who frequent Great Falls should use caution after a coyote that attacked several dogs and one person during daylight hours remains unaccounted for, prompting fears it could be rabid. The Fairfax County Health Department issued the advisory this week following a string of unprovoked attacks reported on Thursday, June 18, in the Great Falls area around Utterback Store Road and Streamview Court in Fairfax County. Despite an extensive search, wildlife officials were unable to find the coyote, meaning rabies cannot be ru…

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by Zak Failla
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