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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
Stafford Family Uncovers Month-Long Scam After Victim Changes Phone Number, Sheriff Says Stafford Family Uncovers Month-Long Scam After Victim Changes Phone Number, Sheriff Says
Stafford Family Uncovers Month-Long Scam After Victim Changes Phone Number, Sheriff Says They didn't ask for a gift card. They wanted gold. A new phone number. And more than a month of complete trust. A Virginia resident spent weeks following the orders of scammers who claimed they were investigating an international crime ring, convincing the woman that her identity had been hijacked to open bank accounts used by organized criminals around the world, authorities said. The bizarre scheme finally came apart in Stafford County after one last instruction: Change your phone number. That unexpected move caught the attention of the victim's family, who quickly realized something wa…

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by Zak Failla
Weather
112-Degree Heat To Slam DC, Maryland, Virginia Ahead Of Fourth Of July Weekend 112-Degree Heat To Slam DC, Maryland, Virginia Ahead Of Fourth Of July Weekend
112-Degree Heat To Slam DC, Maryland, Virginia Ahead Of Fourth Of July Weekend The DMV is about to feel like an oven. A dangerous stretch of heat and humidity is building across DC, Maryland, and Virginia, where the National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory for Wednesday, July 1, followed by an Extreme Heat Watch from Thursday morning through Friday evening. Forecasters say heat index values could climb as high as 106 degrees on Wednesday before turning even more oppressive Thursday and Friday, when “dangerously hot conditions” could make it feel like 112 degrees in parts of the region. The alerts cover DC, portions of central, north-central, northeast, nor…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Shell Casing Leads To Arrest In Gaithersburg Murder, Carjacking Months Later: Police Shell Casing Leads To Arrest In Gaithersburg Murder, Carjacking Months Later: Police
Shell Casing Leads To Arrest In Gaithersburg Murder, Carjacking Months Later: Police The shell casing broke the case. A Maryland teenager has been arrested in the killing of a Gaithersburg man whose SUV was later found abandoned after crashing just minutes after the fatal shooting, Montgomery County police announced. North Potomac resident Earl Deangelo Charles Jr., 18, has been arrested more than two months after the April 9 death of 32-year-old Christopher Gove. Specifically, Charles was charged with: First-degree murder; Armed carjacking; Use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence. The investigation began shortly before 6 a.m. that morning when officers…

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by Zak Failla
Business
Feeling 'Slightly Unhinged'? Leesburg's Newest Shop Says It Has Just The Thing Feeling 'Slightly Unhinged'? Leesburg's Newest Shop Says It Has Just The Thing
Feeling 'Slightly Unhinged'? Leesburg's Newest Shop Says It Has Just The Thing Not every ribbon-cutting comes with ritual magic. A new Virginia boutique promising "darkly divine goods for the slightly unhinged" has officially opened its doors in downtown Leesburg, bringing tarot cards, goddess candles and a healthy dose of gothic charm to Loudoun County. The Gothicary celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Loudoun Street. View this post on Instagram Created by artist and maker Rachel Topper, the boutique specializes in gothic, alternative and apothecary-inspired gifts, offering everything from ha…

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by Zak Failla
Business
One Lucky '7' Changes Everything: Maryland Grandfather Scratches His Way To $1 Million One Lucky '7' Changes Everything: Maryland Grandfather Scratches His Way To $1 Million
One Lucky '7' Changes Everything: Maryland Grandfather Scratches His Way To $1 Million Sometimes, all it takes is one lucky number. A Maryland grandfather is officially a millionaire after scratching off a $20 lottery ticket and uncovering an "AUTOWIN 7" worth a life-changing $1 million. The winning ticket was sold at the Wawa on Rolling Road in Windsor Mill, just outside Baltimore. The longtime Maryland Lottery player said he immediately spotted the "AUTOWIN 7" symbol on his Triple Red 777s scratch-off before revealing the prize underneath. It wasn't $100. It wasn't $1,000. It was $1 million. "It was unbelievable," the avid Orioles fan told Maryland Lottery officials. …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Woman Wakes To Find Masked Intruder Standing At Foot Of Her Bed In Maryland Home: Sheriff Woman Wakes To Find Masked Intruder Standing At Foot Of Her Bed In Maryland Home: Sheriff
Woman Wakes To Find Masked Intruder Standing At Foot Of Her Bed In Maryland Home: Sheriff She opened her eyes to every homeowner's nightmare. A Maryland woman woke up in the middle of the night to find a masked stranger standing at the foot of her bed before the intruder took off running through her home and disappeared into the darkness, authorities said. The terrifying home invasion happened during the early morning hours of Saturday, June 27, at an apartment in the 1000 block of Beaglin Park Drive in Salisbury. According to the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office, the woman awoke to find an unknown man inside her bedroom. The suspect was described as a Black man standing betwe…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Hours After Hosting Community Event, Maryland Mom Killed In Crash That Left Family Heartbroken Hours After Hosting Community Event, Maryland Mom Killed In Crash That Left Family Heartbroken
Hours After Hosting Community Event, Maryland Mom Killed In Crash That Left Family Heartbroken She had just spent the evening bringing people together. Hours later, a Maryland mother was dead after a single-vehicle crash in Prince George's County, leaving behind grieving loved ones who say her children were "her entire world." The crash happened at approximately 12:50 a.m. on Sunday, June 28, along northbound Woodyard Road near Pine View Lane in Clinton. Prince George's County Police later identified the victim as 32-year-old Janae Mathis, of Clinton. According to investigators, Mathis was driving north on Woodyard Road when, for reasons still under investigation, she appeared …

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by Zak Failla
News
Driver Was On Instagram, Chess App Before Deadly Bel Air School Bus Crash: Prosecutors Driver Was On Instagram, Chess App Before Deadly Bel Air School Bus Crash: Prosecutors
Driver Was On Instagram, Chess App Before Deadly Bel Air School Bus Crash: Prosecutors Five seconds. Three apps. One devastating crash. A Maryland driver who struck a teen's vehicle before it was pushed into the path of a school bus was convicted after prosecutors said he spent nearly his entire drive using apps including Instagram, Chess.com and an AI chatbot instead of watching the road. The conviction stems from the Sept. 18, 2025, crash on Route 543 near Crescent Knoll Drive in Bel Air. Following a bench trial, Harford County Circuit Court Judge Alex Allman found John Anthony Gaeta Jr. guilty of criminally negligent manslaughter, authorities announced. Evidence presente…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Person Of Interest Now Charged With Murder In Fredericksburg Teen's Fatal Shooting: Police Person Of Interest Now Charged With Murder In Fredericksburg Teen's Fatal Shooting: Police
Person Of Interest Now Charged With Murder In Fredericksburg Teen's Fatal Shooting: Police It didn't take long for the charges to catch up. A Virginia man who was initially named only as a person of interest after a 19-year-old was shot to death in Fredericksburg is now charged with first-degree murder, police announced Monday, June 29. Fredericksburg police say Emmanuel Killeen, 24, has now been charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in connection with the June 24 killing of Oscar Ruiz Mejia Jr., 19. The shooting happened around 11:10 p.m. in the 200 block of Ivanhoe Court. As Daily Voice previously reported, officers responding to …

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by Zak Failla
News
Carbon Monoxide Alarm Mistaken For Smoke Detector Before Couple's Deaths In Boyds: Police Carbon Monoxide Alarm Mistaken For Smoke Detector Before Couple's Deaths In Boyds: Police
Carbon Monoxide Alarm Mistaken For Smoke Detector Before Couple's Deaths In Boyds: Police Something was trying to warn them. A Maryland couple found dead inside their Boyds home over the weekend may have mistaken a carbon monoxide alarm for a smoke detector hours before the deadly buildup claimed their lives, Montgomery County Police said. The tragedy unfolded on Saturday, June 27, at a home in the 12700 block of Fernberry Lane in Boyds. According to investigators, 89-year-old Elizabeth Jarin told family members earlier that day she believed a smoke alarm was sounding and that her 91-year-old husband, Ceferino Jarin, was unable to reach it to turn it off. Detectives later dete…

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by Zak Failla
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