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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

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
Police & Fire
Gunman Kidnapped Lyft Driver In Silver Spring, Ordered Him To Keep Driving: Police Gunman Kidnapped Lyft Driver In Silver Spring, Ordered Him To Keep Driving: Police
Gunman Kidnapped Lyft Driver In Silver Spring, Ordered Him To Keep Driving: Police A 28-year-old man who allegedly assaulted and kidnapped a Lyft driver at gunpoint in Maryland is facing new charges, authorities announced on Wednesday. White Oak resident Alexander Cleveland Hailey has been arrested and charged in connection with an incident reported in the area of Piney Branch Road and Flower Avenue in Silver Spring on Sunday, May 24. Investigators say that Hailey entered a Lyft driven by his victim. Once inside, he pulled out a handgun and ordered the victim to drive. The driver stopped and fled in the 8500 block of Piney Branch Road. Hailey also took off, but left behi…

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by Zak Failla
News
Four Arrested Months After Frederick Man Survives Gunshots To Chest, Leg, And Hand: Sheriff Four Arrested Months After Frederick Man Survives Gunshots To Chest, Leg, And Hand: Sheriff
Four Arrested Months After Frederick Man Survives Gunshots To Chest, Leg, And Hand: Sheriff A man who was shot in the chest, leg, and hand inside a Maryland home survived the attack. Now, more than seven months later, authorities say they've arrested four people they believe were involved. The arrests stem from a shooting reported on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in the 6600 block of Seagull Court, where deputies responding to what was initially called an assault in progress found a 21-year-old man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds inside the residence. The victim was airlifted to a trauma center and was later listed in stable condition. According to the Frederick County Sheriff's O…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Prince William Police Search For Man Accused Of Indecent Exposure On Woodbridge Trail Prince William Police Search For Man Accused Of Indecent Exposure On Woodbridge Trail
Prince William Police Search For Man Accused Of Indecent Exposure On Woodbridge Trail A woman out for an evening walk in Virginia found herself face-to-face with a man who suddenly exposed himself along a busy trail, police said. The incident was reported around 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16, at Andrew Leitch Park on Dale Boulevard in Woodbridge, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Investigators said the 37-year-old woman was walking along a trail when she noticed an unknown man standing off to the side. As she walked past him, the man exposed himself, police said. No physical contact was reported, and the woman was not injured. The suspect left befo…

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by Zak Failla
News
Rabid Raccoon Found In Maryland Neighborhood Prompts Health Alert In Pasadena Rabid Raccoon Found In Maryland Neighborhood Prompts Health Alert In Pasadena
Rabid Raccoon Found In Maryland Neighborhood Prompts Health Alert In Pasadena A raccoon that tested positive for rabies has Maryland health officials trying to find anyone who may have had contact with the infected animal before it's too late. The animal was found on Monday, June 15, near McGill Court and Milburn Circle in Pasadena, prompting a rabies alert from the Anne Arundel County Department of Health on Wednesday, June 17. Officials are asking anyone who handled, fed, or was attacked by the raccoon to contact the health department immediately.  Pet owners whose animals may have encountered the raccoon, or who have noticed unexplained wounds, are also bein…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
More Victims Feared After Alleged Sexual Assault At Silver Spring Training Academy: Police More Victims Feared After Alleged Sexual Assault At Silver Spring Training Academy: Police
More Victims Feared After Alleged Sexual Assault At Silver Spring Training Academy: Police A 58-year-old man has surrendered to police in Maryland more than a month after an alleged sexual assault at a CPR and first aid training center, police say. Now, detectives are worried there may be more victims. Silver Spring resident Melesse Semegne turned himself in at the Montgomery County Department of Police following an investigation into an alleged rape involving a woman last month. The investigation was launched on Wednesday, May 6, when officers were called to a Silver Spring home, where a woman reported she had been sexually assaulted the previous day. According to the wom…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Fredericksburg LEGO Theft Suspect Runs Across I-95, Ends Up In Jaws Of Police Dog After Chase Fredericksburg LEGO Theft Suspect Runs Across I-95, Ends Up In Jaws Of Police Dog After Chase
Fredericksburg Lego Theft Suspect Runs Across I-95, Ends Up In Jaws Of Police Dog After Chase A stolen stack of LEGO sets sparked a wild I-95 chase that ended with a suspect running through traffic, bolting into the woods, and getting hauled out by a police dog, according to police in Virginia. Richmond resident Stephon Davis, 29, and Mechanicsville resident Jayden Ballard, 21, led multiple police agencies on a wild chase following a botched robbery in Fredericksburg. According to the Fredericksburg Police Department, officers were called to the Target on Carl D. Silver Parkway, where a caller told dispatchers that suspects were leaving the store in a U-Haul. Officers got ther…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Woman Killed In DC, Suspect Fatally Shot By Police After Boarding Metrobus (UPDATED) Woman Killed In DC, Suspect Fatally Shot By Police After Boarding Metrobus (UPDATED)
Woman Killed In DC, Suspect Fatally Shot By Police After Boarding Metrobus (Updated) A man accused of killing a woman in Northwest DC climbed aboard a Metrobus Tuesday morning, but the ride didn't get far. Minutes after police found 44-year-old Melissa Wallace-Pulliam fatally shot on Wisconsin Avenue NW, officers tracked down the suspect and stopped the bus near Upton Street, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. What happened next ended with a second death. Police say officers confronted 44-year-old Shawn Dewayne Williams after he boarded the bus following the shooting. During that encounter, Williams allegedly pulled a handgun. Officers opened fire, striking…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
$750K Chevy Chase House Fire Leaves Home Gutted After Flames Race Through While Family Slept $750K Chevy Chase House Fire Leaves Home Gutted After Flames Race Through While Family Slept
$750K Chevy Chase House Fire Leaves Home Gutted After Flames Race Through While Family Slept Three residents were asleep inside a Maryland home when a fire began climbing from a rear deck into the upper floors of the house late Tuesday night. They got out before anyone was hurt. The blaze broke out at a home in the 4600 block of Drummond Avenue in Chevy Chase, where Montgomery County firefighters arrived to find flames tearing through the rear deck and exterior siding of the two-story residence. By that point, the fire had already spread upward. According to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue officials, the blaze traveled from the rear deck into the upper levels of the home throug…

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by Zak Failla
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