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

Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Stafford Sheriff's Sergeant Secretly Bought Child Abuse Material On Telegram: FBI Stafford Sheriff's Sergeant Secretly Bought Child Abuse Material On Telegram: FBI Stafford Sheriff's Sergeant Secretly Bought Child Abuse Material On Telegram: FBI
Stafford Sheriff's Sergeant Secretly Bought Child Abuse Material On Telegram: FBI A Virginia sheriff's sergeant is facing federal child sexual abuse material charges after investigators say he spent years using Telegram to buy and receive graphic images and videos depicting the abuse of children. Justin Thomas Lee Forman, 37, of Fredericksburg, a sergeant with the Stafford County Sheriff's Office, was arrested on Thursday, July 30, following an FBI investigation, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced Monday, Aug. 3. According to federal court documents, Forman allegedly used a Telegram account beginning as early as 2023 to solicit, purch…

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by Zak Failla
Mount Airy-Woodbine, MD
Breaking News
Exhausted Buck Gets Bucket Brigade After Escaping Mud Trap In Mt. Airy (PHOTOS) Exhausted Buck Gets Bucket Brigade After Escaping Mud Trap In Mt. Airy (PHOTOS) Exhausted Buck Gets Bucket Brigade After Escaping Mud Trap In Mt. Airy (PHOTOS)
Exhausted Buck Gets Bucket Brigade After Escaping Mud Trap In Mt. Airy (Photos) An exhausted buck that managed to free itself from a muddy predicament got one more lifeline from Carroll County firefighters before heading back into the wild. Crews from the Mount Airy station were dispatched Monday after someone reported a deer stuck in the mud, according to the Carroll County Department of Fire and EMS.  By the time firefighters arrived, the young buck had already pulled itself free, but just barely. It was too exhausted to stand for long and appeared completely spent. That's when Lt. Mike Moser grabbed a bucket of water. The deer was rescued in Carroll Co…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Obituaries
'He Brought Light Into Every Room': DC Father Of Two Killed In 'Senseless Violence' 'He Brought Light Into Every Room': DC Father Of Two Killed In 'Senseless Violence' 'He Brought Light Into Every Room': DC Father Of Two Killed In 'Senseless Violence'
'He Brought Light Into Every Room': DC Father Of Two Killed In 'Senseless Violence' He should have been making more memories with his kids. Instead, his family is planning his funeral. Maryland and DC loved ones are mourning Jamari Millet, a young father of two who was killed in what relatives describe as a "senseless act of violence" on Tuesday, July 28. A GoFundMe created by his mother, Shawnice Millet, and co-organizer Markisha Moore says Jamari's death came without warning, leaving behind two young children, devastated parents, and a family now facing funeral expenses while trying to cope with an unimaginable loss. "Jamari was a wonderful father, a loyal friend, an am…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Frederick County Father Races Against Time After ICE Detention Tears Family Apart Frederick County Father Races Against Time After ICE Detention Tears Family Apart Frederick County Father Races Against Time After ICE Detention Tears Family Apart
Frederick County Father Races Against Time After ICE Detention Tears Family Apart Everything changed after one appointment. A Maryland mother says her family's world was turned upside down after her husband was unexpectedly detained by ICE following an immigration appointment, launching a desperate effort to keep their Frederick County home together as the father of two now faces possible deportation within days. The Ruiz family of Jefferson is asking for the community's help after Sergio Ruiz was detained earlier this week, according to a GoFundMe and multiple public posts shared by his wife, Luisa Ruiz. What began as a routine immigration appointment quickly became a …

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
NJ Man Extradited To Virginia After Snapchat Exploitation Of Woodbridge Teen: Police NJ Man Extradited To Virginia After Snapchat Exploitation Of Woodbridge Teen: Police NJ Man Extradited To Virginia After Snapchat Exploitation Of Woodbridge Teen: Police
NJ Man Extradited To Virginia After Snapchat Exploitation Of Woodbridge Teen: Police What started with a series of Snapchat messages ended with a New Jersey man behind bars in Virginia. Prince William County detectives say Stephen Miller, 23, of Somerset, NJ, was extradited to Virginia after investigators accused him of soliciting and collecting child pornography from a 16-year-old girl in the Woodbridge area. The investigation began in May after officers learned the teen had been communicating with Miller through Snapchat, according to Prince William County police. Detectives say Miller allegedly persuaded the victim to send him sexually explicit images during those conve…

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by Zak Failla
Triangle-Dumfries, VA
Breaking News
Argument Ends In Gunfire, Dumfries Man Found Hiding In Woods: Police Argument Ends In Gunfire, Dumfries Man Found Hiding In Woods: Police Argument Ends In Gunfire, Dumfries Man Found Hiding In Woods: Police
Argument Ends In Gunfire, Dumfries Man Found Hiding In Woods: Police An argument ended with gunfire. Then came the manhunt. Police say a Dumfries man opened fire after being dropped off following a dispute with a woman, striking two occupied homes before officers tracked him down hiding in the woods late Friday night. The shooting happened around 11:32 p.m. on Friday, July 31, in the 3100 block of Antrim Circle in Dumfries, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Investigators said Derrick Alexander Marks, 40, had been arguing with a woman before she dropped him off at a home in the neighborhood. As she drove away, multiple gunshots rang o…

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by Zak Failla
Hagerstown, MD
Your Community
Maryland Preserves Another 69 Acres As Washington County Protects Rural Legacy Maryland Preserves Another 69 Acres As Washington County Protects Rural Legacy Maryland Preserves Another 69 Acres As Washington County Protects Rural Legacy
Maryland Preserves Another 69 Acres As Washington County Protects Rural Legacy Some things aren't meant to disappear. Maryland has permanently preserved another piece of its agricultural landscape after a 69-acre farm in Washington County was protected through a state conservation program, pushing the county's total preserved farmland beyond 43,000 acres. The 69.32-acre crop farm on Park Hall Road in Rohrersville was permanently preserved through the Maryland Agricultural Resource-Based Industries Corporation's Next Generation Farmland Acquisition Program, county officials announced Monday, Aug. 3, after the conservation easement was finalized late last month. The pr…

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by Zak Failla
Parkville-Carney, MD
Breaking News
Retreating Man Pushed Into Baltimore's Inner Harbor During Fight, Police Say Retreating Man Pushed Into Baltimore's Inner Harbor During Fight, Police Say Retreating Man Pushed Into Baltimore's Inner Harbor During Fight, Police Say
Retreating Man Pushed Into Baltimore's Inner Harbor During Fight, Police Say He was trying to get away. Instead, Baltimore police say James Britt ended up in the Inner Harbor. The deadly confrontation unfolded Sunday afternoon, Aug. 2, along Lancaster Street in Baltimore, where investigators say an argument between two men turned fatal when one of them shoved the other into the water. By the time emergency crews reached the harbor around 3:13 p.m., 37-year-old Britt had already gone in. He was pulled from the water and rushed to a nearby hospital. He didn't survive. On Monday, Aug. 3, homicide detectives announced the arrest of 36-year-old James Fitzsimmons, of …

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Man Exposed Himself After Dad Caught Him Urinating Near Children In Woodbridge Community: PD Man Exposed Himself After Dad Caught Him Urinating Near Children In Woodbridge Community: PD Man Exposed Himself After Dad Caught Him Urinating Near Children In Woodbridge Community: PD
Man Exposed Himself After Dad Caught Him Urinating Near Children In Woodbridge Community: PD He could have walked away. Instead, Prince William County police say a man who was caught urinating near families and children turned around and exposed himself when a father called him out. The incident happened around 7:17 p.m. on Sunday, July 27, near Ivy Stone Place and Potomac Branch Drive in Woodbridge, according to Prince William County police. Investigators say a 29-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman were walking with their child when they saw an unknown man get out of his vehicle and begin urinating on the ground near them and other children in the area. When the father yelled …

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Teen Dies After Shooting At Woodbridge Car Meet, Homicide Investigation Underway (UPDATED) Teen Dies After Shooting At Woodbridge Car Meet, Homicide Investigation Underway (UPDATED) Teen Dies After Shooting At Woodbridge Car Meet, Homicide Investigation Underway (UPDATED)
Teen Dies After Shooting At Woodbridge Car Meet, Homicide Investigation Underway (Updated) What began as a massive overnight car meet has become a homicide investigation. Prince William County detectives say the 16-year-old boy who was critically wounded when gunfire erupted during a gathering in Woodbridge has died from his injuries. Police were notified Sunday, Aug. 2, that the teen had died at an area hospital after being shot during the early morning hours of Saturday, Aug. 1, in the 14100 block of Crossing Place. An autopsy completed Monday, Aug. 3, ruled the teen's death a homicide, according to Prince William County Police. Because the victim was a juvenile, police are n…

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by Zak Failla
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