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

Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
Who Ordered 1,818 Radiators? CBP Says Stolen Identities Led To $206K Virginia Haul Who Ordered 1,818 Radiators? CBP Says Stolen Identities Led To $206K Virginia Haul Who Ordered 1,818 Radiators? CBP Says Stolen Identities Led To $206K Virginia Haul
Who Ordered 1,818 Radiators? CBP Says Stolen Identities Led To $206K Virginia Haul Imagine getting a call from customs about the hundreds of car radiators you ordered. Except you didn't. That's essentially what happened in Virginia, where US Customs and Border Protection officers seized three shipments containing 1,818 automotive radiators worth more than $206,000 after tracking the paperwork back to people who said they had absolutely nothing to do with them. The shipments arrived in Norfolk from China between July 21 and Aug. 14, carrying radiators bearing Reach and CarQuest brand names. Something in the paperwork didn't add up. CBP officers found discrepancies in th…

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by Zak Failla
Rockville, MD
Breaking News
Dinner Goes Up In Smoke As Tableside Grill Sparks $500K Fire At Rockville KPOT (PHOTOS) Dinner Goes Up In Smoke As Tableside Grill Sparks $500K Fire At Rockville KPOT (PHOTOS) Dinner Goes Up In Smoke As Tableside Grill Sparks $500K Fire At Rockville KPOT (PHOTOS)
Dinner Goes Up In Smoke As Tableside Grill Sparks $500K Fire At Rockville Kpot (Photos) A grease fire at a tableside grill caused more than $500,000 in damage at a Maryland Korean barbecue restaurant. The fire broke out shortly before 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot at 5550 Randolph Road in Rockville's Montrose Crossing shopping center, officials say. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service crews arrived to find a fire that had started in the first-floor dining area and spread through the restaurant's exhaust system. Investigators determined that grease caught fire at a tableside hot pot and grill before igniting inside the exhaust vent and ductwork, ac…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
Former Hayfield Principal Used School Cards For Personal Travel, Events, Police Say Former Hayfield Principal Used School Cards For Personal Travel, Events, Police Say Former Hayfield Principal Used School Cards For Personal Travel, Events, Police Say
Former Hayfield Principal Used School Cards For Personal Travel, Events, Police Say A school-issued payment card allegedly became a personal expense account for a Virginia principal. Darin Thompson, 51, of Lorton, the former principal of Hayfield Secondary School, was arrested on Wednesday, Sept. 30, after investigators say he used nearly $8,000 in school funds on unauthorized personal expenses. The spending included personal travel and trips to events that had nothing to do with Thompson's official duties, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. The case began months earlier. Detectives opened an investigation on April 21 after the Fairfax County Public Schoo…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
Reward Offered After Yorkie Rambo Found With Broken Ribs, Separated Pelvis In Virginia Reward Offered After Yorkie Rambo Found With Broken Ribs, Separated Pelvis In Virginia Reward Offered After Yorkie Rambo Found With Broken Ribs, Separated Pelvis In Virginia
Reward Offered After Yorkie Rambo Found With Broken Ribs, Separated Pelvis In Virginia Two weeks can change everything. On July 14, Rambo was wandering loose in Virginia with no reported injuries. By the night of July 29, the tiny Yorkshire terrier had been abandoned in a Norfolk field with fractured ribs, a separated pelvis and injuries so extensive that he could not recover. Now, two months later, PETA is putting Rambo's face across Norfolk and Virginia Beach as investigators try to determine what happened during those missing days and who was responsible. A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. And the newly reve…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Baltimore's Most Wanted: Dashawn Taylor Still At Large After Shooting That Killed Asia Williams Baltimore's Most Wanted: Dashawn Taylor Still At Large After Shooting That Killed Asia Williams Baltimore's Most Wanted: Dashawn Taylor Still At Large After Shooting That Killed Asia Williams
Baltimore's Most Wanted: Dashawn Taylor Still At Large After Shooting That Killed Asia Williams The search continues for a Maryland man wanted in connection with a shooting that killed a Baltimore woman and wounded another person. Baltimore Police renewed their call for help on Tuesday, Sept. 29, as they continue looking for 24-year-old Dashawn Taylor in connection with the fatal shooting of 38-year-old Asia Williams. Williams was killed on June 23 in the 5200 block of York Road, police said. A 27-year-old man was also shot. More than three months later, Taylor remains wanted and is still considered armed and dangerous, according to investigators. Police have included Taylor in thei…

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
Rabid Skunk Confirmed In Charles County As Officials Warn Pet Owners Ahead Of Free Clinics Rabid Skunk Confirmed In Charles County As Officials Warn Pet Owners Ahead Of Free Clinics Rabid Skunk Confirmed In Charles County As Officials Warn Pet Owners Ahead Of Free Clinics
Rabid Skunk Confirmed In Charles County As Officials Warn Pet Owners Ahead Of Free Clinics A rabid skunk is putting a Maryland community on alert. The animal tested positive for rabies on Monday, Sept. 28 after being found near Ryceville Road and Pudges Place in Charlotte Hall, according to the Charles County Department of Health. The positive test prompted health officials to remind residents to steer clear of wildlife and unfamiliar animals, particularly if they are behaving strangely. Rabies is most commonly transmitted through the bite or scratch of an infected animal. Skunks are among several wild animals capable of passing the virus to pets, along with raccoons, foxes and …

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
DC Felon Fired 3 Times At Scooter Rider Before Raid Turned Up Loaded Guns, Drugs, Feds Say DC Felon Fired 3 Times At Scooter Rider Before Raid Turned Up Loaded Guns, Drugs, Feds Say DC Felon Fired 3 Times At Scooter Rider Before Raid Turned Up Loaded Guns, Drugs, Feds Say
DC Felon Fired 3 Times At Scooter Rider Before Raid Turned Up Loaded Guns, Drugs, Feds Say A passing scooter rider suddenly had three bullets coming his way in DC. Now, Cornelius Welch, 28, has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for the November 2025 shooting, which unfolded in broad daylight outside the Benning Courts apartment complex. The shooting was reported around 4:15 p.m. on Nov. 22 in the 1700 block of Benning Road NE. Welch at the Benning Courts apartment building in a surveillance photo captured the day of the shooting.   US Attorney's Office Surveillance cameras captured an unidentified person riding a scooter along the sidewalk as Welch …

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Breaking News
‘Clearly Didn’t Get The Message’: Annapolis Man Busted With Child Porn While On Probation ‘Clearly Didn’t Get The Message’: Annapolis Man Busted With Child Porn While On Probation ‘Clearly Didn’t Get The Message’: Annapolis Man Busted With Child Porn While On Probation
‘Clearly Didn’t Get The Message’: Annapolis Man Busted With Child Porn While On Probation Matthew James Freeto couldn't help himself. Again. Now, the Maryland man is facing decades in prison for his latest child pornography conviction. The 36-year-old Freeto pleaded guilty to eight counts of possession of child pornography on Wednesday, Sept. 30, and he was sentenced to 80 years in prison, with 18 years to serve. The case began on July 18, 2025, when Anne Arundel County Police received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that traced back to Google. Google had flagged numerous suspected images depicting children engaged in sex acts or sexually…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
ICE Arrests Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting, Secretly Filming Children In Fairfax County ICE Arrests Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting, Secretly Filming Children In Fairfax County ICE Arrests Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting, Secretly Filming Children In Fairfax County
ICE Arrests Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting, Secretly Filming Children In Fairfax County Oscar Evaristo Nunez was back in custody, but not on the charges that first landed him behind bars. More than a year after his arrest on allegations involving the sexual assault and secret filming of children in Virginia, Nunez was arrested by ICE agents on Tuesday, Sept. 15, during a targeted enforcement operation, the Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday, Sept. 30. Nunez, a Honduran national, had initially been arrested in Fairfax County on Aug. 27, 2025, on five charges involving minors, according to DHS. They included three counts of aggravated sexual battery, two of …

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
CBP Says The Sinks Were Fake, The Rugs Were Flammable: Inside A Nearly $1M Virginia Haul CBP Says The Sinks Were Fake, The Rugs Were Flammable: Inside A Nearly $1M Virginia Haul CBP Says The Sinks Were Fake, The Rugs Were Flammable: Inside A Nearly $1M Virginia Haul
CBP Says The Sinks Were Fake, The Rugs Were Flammable: Inside A Nearly $1M Virginia Haul Somewhere between the fake sinks and the flammable rugs, Virginia customs officers completed quite the September shopping list. Five shipments worth nearly $856,000 were seized at the Port of Norfolk this month, running the gamut from counterfeit certifications and potentially unsafe carpets to hundreds of boxes of shirts imported using someone else's identity, according to US Customs and Border Protection. And apparently, nothing was too mundane to raise a red flag. The latest catch came on Tuesday, Sept. 29, when officers recovered 697 cartons of dry-fit T-shirts shipped from Morocco and…

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by Zak Failla
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