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
Woman's Trail Attacker Captured After She Fought Him Off In Loudoun County, Sheriff Says Woman's Trail Attacker Captured After She Fought Him Off In Loudoun County, Sheriff Says Woman's Trail Attacker Captured After She Fought Him Off In Loudoun County, Sheriff Says
Woman's Trail Attacker Captured After She Fought Him Off In Loudoun County, Sheriff Says She refused to let him take her. Now, deputies say he's the one who ended up in custody. A Virginia man has been arrested one week after investigators say he grabbed a woman on a walking trail in Loudoun County, only to watch her fight free and run to safety. The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office announced on Wednesday, July 22, that 34-year-old Rolando Sanchez Velasquez, of Sterling, is accused of attacking the woman near Algonkian Parkway and Lowes Island Boulevard on the night of July 15. According to investigators, the woman was walking alone when Sanchez Velasquez approached and gr…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Fake Cop Pulled Gun, Asked Driver For Ride In Bizarre Woodbridge Roadside Encounter: Police Fake Cop Pulled Gun, Asked Driver For Ride In Bizarre Woodbridge Roadside Encounter: Police Fake Cop Pulled Gun, Asked Driver For Ride In Bizarre Woodbridge Roadside Encounter: Police
Fake Cop Pulled Gun, Asked Driver For Ride In Bizarre Woodbridge Roadside Encounter: Police A man claiming to be a police officer didn't ask for a driver's license. Investigators in Virginia say he pulled a gun and asked for a ride instead. Now Prince William County detectives are trying to identify the man after what they believe were two unsettling encounters within minutes of each other Sunday night in Woodbridge. The first happened around 9 p.m. on July 19 along Dale Boulevard near Forestdale Avenue. According to police, a 25-year-old driver was approached by an unknown man who displayed a handgun, claimed to be a police officer, and then asked for a ride. The driver re…

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by Zak Failla
Parkville-Carney, MD
Your Community
Police Reveal What Sent Blind Students' School Bus Crashing Into Parkville Storefront (UPDATED) Police Reveal What Sent Blind Students' School Bus Crashing Into Parkville Storefront (UPDATED) Police Reveal What Sent Blind Students' School Bus Crashing Into Parkville Storefront (UPDATED)
Police Reveal What Sent Blind Students' School Bus Crashing Into Parkville Storefront (Updated) No one inside the school bus caused it to end up buried inside a Parkville storefront. Police now say it never had a chance. Baltimore County crash investigators announced Wednesday that a Ford Focus crossed the center line on Harford Road Tuesday afternoon and slammed head-on into a Baltimore County Public Schools bus carrying students from the Maryland School for the Blind. The Parkville crash. Baltimore County Fire Department The impact triggered the violent chain reaction that ended with the bus plowing through the front of a commercial building. The crash happened around 2:25…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
7th Arrest Made In Teen's Killing As Manassas Mobile Home Murder Case Keeps Growing: Police 7th Arrest Made In Teen's Killing As Manassas Mobile Home Murder Case Keeps Growing: Police 7th Arrest Made In Teen's Killing As Manassas Mobile Home Murder Case Keeps Growing: Police
7th Arrest Made In Teen's Killing As Manassas Mobile Home Murder Case Keeps Growing: Police The list keeps getting longer. More than a month after an 18-year-old was gunned down near a Manassas mobile home community, Virginia detectives have announced a seventh arrest in the sprawling homicide investigation. Prince William County police said 19-year-old Jaiden Juel France, of Manassas, was arrested Tuesday, July 21, in connection with the June 15 killing of Luis Angel Chavez. France is the latest suspect charged in a case that has steadily expanded from two arrests to seven as detectives continued unraveling what happened the night Chavez was shot. Police said Chavez was in the …

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by Zak Failla
Landover, MD
Breaking News
Landover Murder Suspect Caught After Nearly 6 Years On Run In DC Following Manhunt: Police Landover Murder Suspect Caught After Nearly 6 Years On Run In DC Following Manhunt: Police Landover Murder Suspect Caught After Nearly 6 Years On Run In DC Following Manhunt: Police
Landover Murder Suspect Caught After Nearly 6 Years On Run In DC Following Manhunt: Police Nearly six years after he vanished, the man accused of gunning down a 22-year-old Maryland man is in custody. The arrest ends a years-long hunt that stretched across multiple jurisdictions, drew in the US Marshals Service, and prompted emotional public pleas from the victim's parents just weeks ago. Prince George's County police announced on Wednesday, July 22, that 34-year-old Dayvon Gordon was arrested Tuesday night in Washington, DC, in connection with the October 2020 killing of Andre Lamont Cox Jr. in Landover. For years, Gordon managed to evade investigators after an arrest warrant w…

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
Over 100 Cemetery Vases Stolen, Nearly Melted Down Before $100K Recovery In Waldorf: Sheriff Over 100 Cemetery Vases Stolen, Nearly Melted Down Before $100K Recovery In Waldorf: Sheriff Over 100 Cemetery Vases Stolen, Nearly Melted Down Before $100K Recovery In Waldorf: Sheriff
Over 100 Cemetery Vases Stolen, Nearly Melted Down Before $100K Recovery In Waldorf: Sheriff They were stolen from graves. Then they were nearly melted down for scrap. Instead, Maryland detectives say they got there just in time. More than 100 bronze memorial vases worth over $100,000 have been recovered after Charles County detectives unraveled what they say was a cemetery theft scheme that targeted Trinity Memorial Gardens in Waldorf. The thefts happened over two separate stretches between June 8 and June 21 and again between July 4 and July 6, leaving dozens of graves stripped of the bronze memorial vases families had left behind, officials said. The break in the case came lat…

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by Zak Failla
Silver Spring, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Shopper Followed Home From Kohl's By Alleged Stalker Who Tried Breaking In: Police Maryland Shopper Followed Home From Kohl's By Alleged Stalker Who Tried Breaking In: Police Maryland Shopper Followed Home From Kohl's By Alleged Stalker Who Tried Breaking In: Police
Maryland Shopper Followed Home From Kohl's By Alleged Stalker Who Tried Breaking In: Police A Maryland woman made it out of Kohl's. Police say the man who had been watching her made it all the way to her front window. Now Montgomery County detectives are trying to find out whether anyone else had the same terrifying encounter with 20-year-old Bowie resident Adrean Walls, who they believe may have stalked other women shopping at the Orchard Center in Silver Spring. The investigation began after a woman reported being targeted while shopping inside Kohl's on Cherry Hill Road on Friday, July 10. According to detectives, Walls stalked the woman through the store while exposing himse…

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by Zak Failla
Abingdon, MD
Breaking News
Abingdon Wife Killer Learns Fate As Prosecutors Reveal DNA Link To 1985 Rape, 1986 Murder Abingdon Wife Killer Learns Fate As Prosecutors Reveal DNA Link To 1985 Rape, 1986 Murder Abingdon Wife Killer Learns Fate As Prosecutors Reveal DNA Link To 1985 Rape, 1986 Murder
Abingdon Wife Killer Learns Fate As Prosecutors Reveal DNA Link To 1985 Rape, 1986 Murder A Maryland man who murdered his wife inside their Abingdon home will spend the rest of his life behind bars. But as David Williams learned his fate, prosecutors revealed they aren't done with him yet. Williams, 67, was sentenced on Tuesday, July 21, to life in prison plus 19 years for the 2025 murder of his wife, Lillian Williams, in Harford County Circuit Court. While arguing for an even longer sentence, Assistant State's Attorney Jason Allen disclosed that Williams is expected to soon be charged in connection with a 1986 Baltimore City homicide. Allen also told the court investigators r…

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by Zak Failla
Gaithersburg, MD
Breaking News
Jackknifed Tractor-Trailer Shuts Down I-495 Outer Loop In Maryland Overnight Jackknifed Tractor-Trailer Shuts Down I-495 Outer Loop In Maryland Overnight Jackknifed Tractor-Trailer Shuts Down I-495 Outer Loop In Maryland Overnight
Jackknifed Tractor-Trailer Shuts Down I-495 Outer Loop In Maryland Overnight A tractor-trailer jackknifed on the I-495 Outer Loop in Montgomery County around 11 p.m. Tuesday, July 21, blocking nearly every lane between Coles Road and Georgia Avenue, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service officials. Photos from the scene show the truck folded across the highway, with its trailers stretched across multiple lanes as emergency crews worked in the rain. Twitter/@mcfrsPIO Firefighters responded to the crash and confirmed no injuries were reported. Hazmat crews were also called to the scene to assist with a possible fuel leak, forcing the Outer Loop down…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Obituaries
Virginia Firefighter, Assistant Fire Marshal Justin Laidler Dies At 37 After ALS Battle Virginia Firefighter, Assistant Fire Marshal Justin Laidler Dies At 37 After ALS Battle Virginia Firefighter, Assistant Fire Marshal Justin Laidler Dies At 37 After ALS Battle
Virginia Firefighter, Assistant Fire Marshal Justin Laidler Dies At 37 After ALS Battle He spent more than 15 years protecting others. Now, Virginia's fire service is mourning the loss of Master Technician and Assistant Fire Marshal Justin M. Laidler, who died Monday, July 20, after a battle with ALS.  He was 37. Laidler devoted much of his career to the City of Manassas Fire & Rescue Department, where he served for more than 15 years and became known simply as "Laidler" to the firefighters who worked alongside him. In announcing his death, the department remembered him as a beloved friend, brother, husband, father, and public servant whose work ethic and commitm…

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by Zak Failla
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