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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
Where Is George? Odenton Man Missing After Leaving For Glen Burnie Gym (DEVELOPING) Where Is George? Odenton Man Missing After Leaving For Glen Burnie Gym (DEVELOPING)
Where Is George? Odenton Man Missing After Leaving For Glen Burnie Gym (Developing) A Maryland family is desperately searching for a 46-year-old man who vanished nearly a week ago after leaving home for a routine trip to the gym and never arriving. George Shorter Jr., of Odenton, was last seen on the morning of Thursday, June 11, when he left his home headed to Gold's Gym in Glen Burnie, according to Anne Arundel County Police and family members. What happened next remains a mystery. Shorter never made it to the gym, family members said. He also never showed up for work and has not been heard from since leaving home. His disappearance has prompted a growing search effort…

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by Zak Failla
News
Murder Convicted Of Carrying Fentanyl, Gun Caught In Wild Baltimore Shootout Learns Fate: DOJ Murder Convicted Of Carrying Fentanyl, Gun Caught In Wild Baltimore Shootout Learns Fate: DOJ
Murder Convicted Of Carrying Fentanyl, Gun Caught In Wild Baltimore Shootout Learns Fate: DOJ A convicted murderer in Maryland who was involved in an East Baltimore shootout is heading back to prison, federal authorities announced. James Beverly, Jr., 40, has been sentenced to 54 months in prison for his role in a violent shooting that played out like a scene out of The Wire in Baltimore two years ago. According to court documents, in February 2024, Beverly stood on an East Baltimore corner with his jacket and pants pockets filled with fentanyl and cocaine base packaged for distribution. At the time, he was also in possession of a loaded semi-automatic pistol, which he is proh…

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by Zak Failla
News
Kids Walked Through Alleged Crack Market Near DC School For Nearly Two Years, Feds Say Kids Walked Through Alleged Crack Market Near DC School For Nearly Two Years, Feds Say
Kids Walked Through Alleged Crack Market Near DC School For Nearly Two Years, Feds Say Children can be seen walking through a group of alleged drug dealers in surveillance photos released Wednesday after federal agents arrested 14 people accused of running an open-air crack cocaine operation steps from a Southeast DC elementary school. The photos, released by the US Attorney's Office, show children passing through the area near 4th Street SE and Chesapeake Street SE, where prosecutors say members of the conspiracy routinely sold crack cocaine in broad daylight about 300 feet from Hendley Elementary School. The drug trafficking operation allegedly operated near the inters…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
Teachers Stabbed During Student Attack At Roye-Williams Elementary School: Sheriff (UPDATED) Teachers Stabbed During Student Attack At Roye-Williams Elementary School: Sheriff (UPDATED)
Teachers Stabbed During Student Attack At Roye-Williams Elementary School: Sheriff (Updated) Two teachers injured during a student attack at a Maryland elementary school were stabbed during the incident, according to a new update from authorities. The attack unfolded around 3:33 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16, during afternoon dismissal at Roye-Williams Elementary School in Havre de Grace, the Harford County Sheriff's Office said on Wednesday. When deputies arrived, they found two school employees suffering from injuries consistent with being stabbed. Evidence collected at the scene supported responding deputies' initial assessment that an attack had occurred, according to investigators.…

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
Cancer Couldn't Keep Her Away: Virginia Community Mourns Trailblazing Captain Becky Jones Cancer Couldn't Keep Her Away: Virginia Community Mourns Trailblazing Captain Becky Jones
Cancer Couldn't Keep Her Away: Virginia Community Mourns Trailblazing Captain Becky Jones Even cancer couldn't keep Capt. Becky Jones away from the people she spent more than two decades serving in Virginia. The Orange County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday, June 17, that Jones, a 26-year veteran of the agency and one of its most respected leaders, died after a battle with cancer. For many in the community, Jones was known as a trailblazer.  She became the first female captain in the history of the sheriff's office, the agency's first female SWAT team member, and its first female firearms instructor. But those who worked alongside her say her legacy reaches far beyon…

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by Zak Failla
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
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