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

Sterling, VA
Breaking News
Duct-Taped Passenger's Emergency Landing At BWI Leads To Federal Indictment In Maryland Duct-Taped Passenger's Emergency Landing At BWI Leads To Federal Indictment In Maryland Duct-Taped Passenger's Emergency Landing At BWI Leads To Federal Indictment In Maryland
Duct-Taped Passenger's Emergency Landing At BWI Leads To Federal Indictment In Maryland The American Airlines passenger who had to be restrained with duct tape and zip ties during a flight that was diverted to Maryland is now facing a much bigger problem on the ground. Layne Lundeen, 67, of Tucson, Arizona, was indicted on charges stemming from a confrontation aboard a Dallas-to-Newark flight that was diverted to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Anne Arundel County on Thursday, Sept. 3. Federal prosecutors announced the indictment on Tuesday, Oct. 13, alleging that Lundeen assaulted a fellow passenger and interfered with flight attendants and cre…

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by Zak Failla and Cecilia Levine
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Sick Secret: Baltimore County Paramedic Who Contaminated Items With Bodily Fluids Learns Fate Sick Secret: Baltimore County Paramedic Who Contaminated Items With Bodily Fluids Learns Fate Sick Secret: Baltimore County Paramedic Who Contaminated Items With Bodily Fluids Learns Fate
Sick Secret: Baltimore County Paramedic Who Contaminated Items With Bodily Fluids Learns Fate The Maryland paramedic who intentionally spread bodily fluid while on the job will spend decades in prison, prosecutors announced. On Tuesday, Christopher Carroll, 36, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after his arrest when detectives linked the Baltimore County EMS to at least three separate incidents that resulted in people unknowingly consuming contaminated items. Detectives with the Baltimore County Police Department arrested Carroll on Tuesday, Feb. 4, following an investigation that began in November 2025, police said. He was initially charged with multiple offenses, including destr…

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by Zak Failla
Pasadena-Lake Shore, MD
Breaking News
Jeep, Second Vehicle Found Off Road After Crash Shuts Down Route 175 In Howard County Jeep, Second Vehicle Found Off Road After Crash Shuts Down Route 175 In Howard County Jeep, Second Vehicle Found Off Road After Crash Shuts Down Route 175 In Howard County
Jeep, Second Vehicle Found Off Road After Crash Shuts Down Route 175 In Howard County A two-vehicle crash that sent a Jeep through a guardrail has shut down all westbound lanes of a busy Maryland highway during the Tuesday evening commute. The crash was reported at approximately 5:34 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13, along westbound MD Route 175 near I-95 in Howard County, according to the Maryland Department of Transportation. Traffic cameras showed a black Jeep stopped against a damaged guardrail, with a second vehicle farther down an embankment near a highway sign. A traffic pole was also toppled in the crash. Both westbound travel lanes, both shoulders, a right deceleration lan…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
They Called Her 'Cray': DC Woman Learns Prison Fate For Violent Robbery Spree Across Region They Called Her 'Cray': DC Woman Learns Prison Fate For Violent Robbery Spree Across Region They Called Her 'Cray': DC Woman Learns Prison Fate For Violent Robbery Spree Across Region
They Called Her 'Cray': DC Woman Learns Prison Fate For Violent Robbery Spree Across Region Ashley Gause helped turn a string of armed robberies across Maryland and neighboring states into a $300,000 criminal enterprise, and now she's headed to federal prison. Gause, 33, of Washington, DC, was sentenced on Tuesday, Oct. 13, to 140 months in prison for co-leading a crew that terrorized employees at more than a dozen pharmacies and cellphone stores across Maryland, Virginia, DC, and New Jersey. Known as "Cray," Gause helped orchestrate the robberies between May 2020 and May 2021, targeting businesses for prescription drugs and cellphones that could be resold in DC, according to fede…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
Unwanted Embrace: Manassas Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Woman At 7-Eleven, Police Say Unwanted Embrace: Manassas Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Woman At 7-Eleven, Police Say Unwanted Embrace: Manassas Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Woman At 7-Eleven, Police Say
Unwanted Embrace: Manassas Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Woman At 7-Eleven, Police Say A 58-year-old man who preyed on a stranger more than 30 years his junior at a Northern Virginia 7-Eleven is behind bars. Jose Medina was arrested on Tuesday, Oct. 13, following a reported incident involving a 22-year-old woman in Manassas who was inappropriately touched, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Shortly after 3:15 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11, officers were called to a 7-Eleven in the 12100 block of Dumfries Road in Manassas to investigate reports of an earlier assault in the parking lot. Investigators say the Manassas man approached the woman and forcefull…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Police Investigate Phone Threat At The Gardner School, Assist With Dismissal (DEVELOPING) Police Investigate Phone Threat At The Gardner School, Assist With Dismissal (DEVELOPING) Police Investigate Phone Threat At The Gardner School, Assist With Dismissal (DEVELOPING)
Police Investigate Phone Threat At The Gardner School, Assist With Dismissal (Developing) Police are investigating a threat made to a Virginia school as officers work to determine whether it is credible. The Arlington County Police Department was called to The Gardner School on Clarendon Boulevard on Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 13, following a threat made by phone. As of 3:30 p.m., officers remained on scene investigating the threat and assisting with dismissal. Police said no evidence of a crime had been found, though the credibility of the threat was still being assessed. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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by Zak Failla
Leonardtown-California, MD
Breaking News
Woman Was Nine Months Pregnant When Mechanicsville Man Attacked Her In Front Of Kids: Jury Woman Was Nine Months Pregnant When Mechanicsville Man Attacked Her In Front Of Kids: Jury Woman Was Nine Months Pregnant When Mechanicsville Man Attacked Her In Front Of Kids: Jury
Woman Was Nine Months Pregnant When Mechanicsville Man Attacked Her In Front Of Kids: Jury A man who assaulted a woman who was nine months pregnant, in an attack she did not report until after giving birth in Southern Maryland, will face decades in prison. Mechanicsville resident Jeffery Francis Pappaianni, 34, was convicted following an investigation into a series of domestic violence offenses earlier this year in front of children, according to the St. Mary's County State's Attorney's Office. The assault happened on Feb. 22, when Pappaianni repeatedly punched the woman in the face, fracturing her nose, before kicking and punching her in the stomach while she was nine month…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Breaking News
Remains Found In Maryland Park Identified As Annapolis Man Missing Since January: Police Remains Found In Maryland Park Identified As Annapolis Man Missing Since January: Police Remains Found In Maryland Park Identified As Annapolis Man Missing Since January: Police
Remains Found In Maryland Park Identified As Annapolis Man Missing Since January: Police A months-long search for a missing Maryland man has come to a tragic end after human remains discovered in a wooded park were identified as those of a 33-year-old who disappeared in January. Nicholas Bradley Patterson, of Annapolis, was identified by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner nearly two weeks after his remains were recovered from a wooded section of Truxtun Park in Anne Arundel County. Patterson had been missing since Wednesday, Jan. 21, when his family reported his disappearance to Annapolis Police, setting off an investigation that stretched through the winter, spring, and …

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Fugitive Wanted For Sex Assault Of Woman Remains On The Run Weeks Later: State Police Maryland Fugitive Wanted For Sex Assault Of Woman Remains On The Run Weeks Later: State Police Maryland Fugitive Wanted For Sex Assault Of Woman Remains On The Run Weeks Later: State Police
Maryland Fugitive Wanted For Sex Assault Of Woman Remains On The Run Weeks Later: State Police Nearly two months after a woman was allegedly physically and sexually assaulted in Maryland, the man accused of attacking her remains at large, and state police are asking for help finding him. Investigators in Caroline County are searching for 27-year-old Kenneth James Swift Jr., a Wicomico County resident accused of attacking a woman on Monday, Aug. 24, in the 100 block of Riverwalk Terrace in Federalsburg. According to Maryland State Police, Swift allegedly assaulted the woman before leaving the area, setting off an investigation that led authorities to secure a warrant for his arrest la…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Mother Kicks Spotsy Sergeant In Head As Daughter Bites Him During Arrest: Sheriff Mother Kicks Spotsy Sergeant In Head As Daughter Bites Him During Arrest: Sheriff Mother Kicks Spotsy Sergeant In Head As Daughter Bites Him During Arrest: Sheriff
Mother Kicks Spotsy Sergeant In Head As Daughter Bites Him During Arrest: Sheriff A mother-daughter duo in Northern Virginia are both behind bars after one was arrested outside a business during an angry outburst and the other stepped in to intervene. At around 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, a sergeant from the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office was on patrol in the parking lot of 4256 Plan Road, where there was a large gathering outside Durango's Grill. As he approached, he said that a woman from Bowling Green was being escorted out of the restaurant, prompting the sergeant to step in with an assist. Makayla Buie, 25, attempted to flee as the sergeant attempted to d…

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by Zak Failla
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