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

Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Love, Drugs, Guns: DC Couple Busted In Fentanyl Operation Out Of Apartment, Feds Say Love, Drugs, Guns: DC Couple Busted In Fentanyl Operation Out Of Apartment, Feds Say
Love, Drugs, Guns: DC Couple Busted In Fentanyl Operation Out Of Apartment, Feds Say Tainted Love? A DC couple who ran an alleged drug trafficking operation from their apartment in the nation's capital is facing charges, federal authorities announced. Katie Shameka Williams, 33, and Kenneth Darnell Smith Jr., 32, have been arrested for allegedly running their drug distribution operation in the Congress Heights neighborhood. In March, officials say an investigation was launched into a narcotics distribution operation based in the 1600 block of Savannah Street SE. Over the course of several months, investigators say they documented at least nine instances of crack cocaine a…

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by Zak Failla
Great Falls, VA
Breaking News
Chilling Details Emerge In Great Falls Park Killing Involving Knife, Gloves, Gasoline: Reports Chilling Details Emerge In Great Falls Park Killing Involving Knife, Gloves, Gasoline: Reports
Chilling Details Emerge In Great Falls Park Killing Involving Knife, Gloves, Gasoline: Reports The arrest in Maryland was only the beginning of what Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos allegedly told homicide detectives. Cedillos-Campos, 19, was taken into custody without incident in Prince George's County on Wednesday, Aug. 19, two days after 42-year-old Carmen Lizet Puch was found stabbed to death near the Difficult Run Trail in Great Falls, Virginia. Hours after the arrest, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said Cedillos-Campos was "offering a full confession for what transpired" as detectives interviewed him about Puch's killing. Investigators believe the killing was premeditat…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Breaking News
Fatality Confirmed After Reported Propane Explosion Collapses Annapolis Home (UPDATED) Fatality Confirmed After Reported Propane Explosion Collapses Annapolis Home (UPDATED)
Fatality Confirmed After Reported Propane Explosion Collapses Annapolis Home (Updated) A frantic rescue effort at the scene of a Maryland house explosion has taken a deadly turn. One person was killed, and another was rescued after a reported propane explosion caused a significant collapse of a home in the 1100 block of Green Holly Drive in Annapolis on Wednesday, Aug. 19, according to Anne Arundel County Professional Fire Fighters. The blast brought crews to the home shortly before 12:40 p.m., according to the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. Photos from the scene show the force of the explosion left the home heavily damaged, with portions of the structure collapsed and…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Your Community
Night Cheering On Commanders Ends In Nightmare For Family Of 4 Seriously Hurt In Crash Night Cheering On Commanders Ends In Nightmare For Family Of 4 Seriously Hurt In Crash
Night Cheering On Commanders Ends In Nightmare For Family Of 4 Seriously Hurt In Crash A night spent cheering on Washington ended with a Maryland family facing a much different fight. The Brown family was heading home after watching the Commanders beat the Miami Dolphins, 20-7, in a preseason game on Friday, Aug. 14, when they were struck by a car, according to a GoFundMe campaign launched on their behalf. All four family members suffered serious injuries in the crash, organizers said. Trinity was hurt the worst. She is recovering at Christiana Hospital in Delaware and has “a long road ahead of her,” according to loved ones. The family had spent the night together chee…

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by Zak Failla
Chantilly, VA
Breaking News
Congress Targets ICE Agents After Gun-Drawn Confrontation With Virginia Woman Goes Viral Congress Targets ICE Agents After Gun-Drawn Confrontation With Virginia Woman Goes Viral
Congress Targets ICE Agents After Gun-Drawn Confrontation With Virginia Woman Goes Viral The viral showdown between ICE agents and a Virginia woman is headed to Capitol Hill. Six House Democrats opened an investigation on Wednesday, Aug. 19, into the encounter involving Northern Virginia counselor Carolina Molina, whose cellphone and dashcam videos show a masked federal agent approaching her vehicle with his gun drawn during an immigration operation in Bailey's Crossroads near Falls Church. And this time, lawmakers want ICE's video. They also want the ICE agents involved pulled from duty and placed on administrative leave while their conduct is investigated. The demands come …

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
$100K Crash: Suspected Virginia DUI Driver Takes Out Utility Pole, Gas Station Canopy $100K Crash: Suspected Virginia DUI Driver Takes Out Utility Pole, Gas Station Canopy
$100K Crash: Suspected Virginia DUI Driver Takes Out Utility Pole, Gas Station Canopy A 71-year-old man is facing criminal charges following a single-vehicle crash in Virginia that sent him to the hospital and left several businesses in the dark. Shortly before 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 18, officers from the Culpeper County Police Department were called to the area of Orange Road and Germanna Highway, where a driver struck a utility pole. According to investigators, Culpeper resident David Green was behind the wheel after leaving a business. He then crossed the center line and struck the pole, causing a chain reaction that ended with the pole falling onto the canopy at C&am…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Your Community
WATCH: Runaway Emu Gives Virginia Firefighters A Very Different Kind Of Rescue WATCH: Runaway Emu Gives Virginia Firefighters A Very Different Kind Of Rescue
Watch: Runaway Emu Gives Virginia Firefighters A Very Different Kind Of Rescue "No two days are alike in this job." Firefighters in Northern Virginia traded flames for feathers on Tuesday, Aug. 18, when a runaway emu sent crews scrambling for a very different kind of rescue. The unusual call came from the Hamilton area of Loudoun County, where members of Fire Station 5 were dispatched to help reunite the escaped bird with its owner, according to the Loudoun Career Fire Fighters Association. No hoses needed. Just a little teamwork and some careful wrangling. Video from the encounter shows two rescuers working together in a wooded area as they guide the surprisingl…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
He Got Fired From A Virginia Company, Then $41K In Wire And Tools Vanished, Sheriff Says He Got Fired From A Virginia Company, Then $41K In Wire And Tools Vanished, Sheriff Says
He Got Fired From A Virginia Company, Then $41K In Wire And Tools Vanished, Sheriff Says Jacob Caudill did not take his firing lightly. The Virginia man is accused of stealing more than $41,000 in industrial wire and tools from Stuart Rush Company on Hillman Highway this week, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. During the investigation, deputies learned that some of the stolen industrial wire had been taken to a scrap metal business in Chilhowie. That business had more scruples than Caudill. Employees at the business recognized the wire as being potentially stolen and were able to obtain the ID of the person who attempted to sell it. Further investigat…

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by Zak Failla
Chantilly, VA
Your Community
They All Made It Out Of Their Chantilly Home, But Almost Nothing Else Did They All Made It Out Of Their Chantilly Home, But Almost Nothing Else Did
They All Made It Out Of Their Chantilly Home, But Almost Nothing Else Did Three generations of one family escaped a devastating Northern Virginia fire with their lives. Nearly everything else was left behind. Danial Boushra, his wife, their four young children, and his parents lost their Chantilly home when an accidental fire broke out around midnight and spread through the residence, according to a GoFundMe campaign launched by close friend Eddie Adiyeh. Everyone in the family made it out safely. But what came next was another reality entirely. The Boushras lost nearly everything they owned, according to Adiyeh, leaving a family of eight suddenly without …

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
74-Year-Old Scooter Rider Dies Weeks After Manassas Crash, Driver Charged: Police 74-Year-Old Scooter Rider Dies Weeks After Manassas Crash, Driver Charged: Police
74-Year-Old Scooter Rider Dies Weeks After Manassas Crash, Driver Charged: Police A 74-year-old scooter rider has died after being struck by a driver who blew through a stop sign in Northern Virginia, police say. Nearly a month after Jorge Valentin Diaz Ramirez struck Manassas man John Wesley Marr, police have cited the driver after the 74-year-old succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday, Aug. 18. Shortly before 8 a.m. on Tuesday, July 21, officers from the Prince William County Police Department were called to the intersection of Coverstone Drive and Aaron Lane in Manassas, where there was a reported crash. Investigators say Diaz Ramirez was driving a 2022 Kia Forte on Aa…

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by Zak Failla
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