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
Knight's Final Call: Virginia Honors Fallen K9 Killed In Shootout That Wounded Officers Knight's Final Call: Virginia Honors Fallen K9 Killed In Shootout That Wounded Officers Knight's Final Call: Virginia Honors Fallen K9 Killed In Shootout That Wounded Officers
Knight's Final Call: Virginia Honors Fallen K9 Killed In Shootout That Wounded Officers Days after a domestic disturbance turned into a gun battle that left two officers critically wounded, Virginians are mourning the member of the department who never made it home. His name was Knight. The 5-year-old German Shepherd/Malinois mix was killed in the line of duty during the May 31 shooting on Gumfork Place, where two officers were also wounded while responding to a call for help. Now, flowers are being left outside police headquarters, tributes are pouring in from across Virginia, and residents are learning the story of the K9 officer who spent four years serving alongside Cpl. …

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Teen Playing Basketball Outside Rosa Parks Elementary School Groped, Shoved By Man, Police Say Teen Playing Basketball Outside Rosa Parks Elementary School Groped, Shoved By Man, Police Say Teen Playing Basketball Outside Rosa Parks Elementary School Groped, Shoved By Man, Police Say
Teen Playing Basketball Outside Rosa Parks Elementary School Groped, Shoved By Man, Police Say A 34-year-old man who played a pickup basketball game with a teen outside a Northern Virginia elementary school is accused of groping and assaulting him, according to police. Officers from the Prince William County Police Department were called on Sunday, May 31, to Rosa Parks Elementary School on Princedale Drive in Woodbridge, where there was a reported incident involving a man and a 14-year-old. According to investigators, the teen was playing basketball when he was approached by Woodbridge resident Timothy Michael Bangura. It is alleged that Bangura asked the 14-year-old to play, and d…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Police K9 Tracks Down Teen Thief Hiding Under Bed In Vacant Spotsylvania Home: Sheriff Police K9 Tracks Down Teen Thief Hiding Under Bed In Vacant Spotsylvania Home: Sheriff Police K9 Tracks Down Teen Thief Hiding Under Bed In Vacant Spotsylvania Home: Sheriff
Police K9 Tracks Down Teen Thief Hiding Under Bed In Vacant Spotsylvania Home: Sheriff There was a monster under the bed. A teenager in Virginia did all he could to avoid his arrest after stealing from an area Wawa, but a police K9 was both smarter and quicker. Bishop Jackson, 19, is facing multiple charges following a reported theft on Monday, June 1, at the Wawa in Breezewood, according to the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office. Deputies flooded the area, and Jackson was spotted fleeing on foot and jumping a fence in an attempt to elude law enforcement. Then, K9 Buck entered the chat. The quick-thinking dog responded to assist and tracked Jackson through the woods and several…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Your Community
ICE Want Hold On Manassas Man Accused Of Posing As Teen To Rape Young Girl: HSI ICE Want Hold On Manassas Man Accused Of Posing As Teen To Rape Young Girl: HSI ICE Want Hold On Manassas Man Accused Of Posing As Teen To Rape Young Girl: HSI
ICE Want Hold On Manassas Man Accused Of Posing As Teen To Rape Young Girl: HSI A Virginia man accused of posing as a teenager online before sexually assaulting a young girl is now the subject of an ICE detainer after federal authorities asked that he not be released from custody. Cristian Romario Saenz-Argueta was arrested in May following a Prince William County Police investigation into allegations that he used social media to communicate with a girl under the age of 15 before arranging multiple meetings in a parking lot along Croce Court in Prince William County. Investigators say the girl believed she was talking to an 18-year-old. Police later determined the sus…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
On Your Side
'I Always Thought I Was Going To Hit The Lottery': Virginia Woman Wins $1 Million At Wawa 'I Always Thought I Was Going To Hit The Lottery': Virginia Woman Wins $1 Million At Wawa 'I Always Thought I Was Going To Hit The Lottery': Virginia Woman Wins $1 Million At Wawa
'I Always Thought I Was Going To Hit The Lottery': Virginia Woman Wins $1 Million At Wawa She always knew she'd hit the lottery. Then she walked into a Virginia Wawa and proved herself right. An anonymous Hampton woman is celebrating a $1 million Virginia Lottery win after buying a Winners Club scratcher at the Wawa on East Mercury Boulevard and uncovering the game's top prize. The Hampton resident said she had long believed a big win was in her future. "As soon as I saw it, I just freaked out!" the winner told Virginia Lottery officials. "I always thought I was going to hit the Lottery." The winning ticket was purchased at the Wawa at 301 E. Mercury Blvd. in Hampton. B…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Former Maryland Prison Lieutenant Helped Hide Inmate Assault. Now He's Going To Prison: DOJ Former Maryland Prison Lieutenant Helped Hide Inmate Assault. Now He's Going To Prison: DOJ Former Maryland Prison Lieutenant Helped Hide Inmate Assault. Now He's Going To Prison: DOJ
Former Maryland Prison Lieutenant Helped Hide Inmate Assault. Now He's Going To Prison: DOJ A former prison lieutenant who helped cover up an assault on an inmate is going to spend years behind the same bars he was once tasked with protecting. Jermaine Sturgis, 41, of Laurel, Delaware, was sentenced to 33 months in prison, followed by a year of supervised release for conspiring to obstruct justice and lying to federal officers, authorities announced. Sturgis was convicted by a federal jury in December following a five-day trial tied to a 2021 assault inside Eastern Correctional Institution in Westover. At the time, Sturgis was not just another officer at the prison. He was a lie…

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by Zak Failla
Kensington, MD
Breaking News
Texas Man Used Fake Government ID After Demanding Stolen Packages At Kensington CVS: Police Texas Man Used Fake Government ID After Demanding Stolen Packages At Kensington CVS: Police Texas Man Used Fake Government ID After Demanding Stolen Packages At Kensington CVS: Police
Texas Man Used Fake Government ID After Demanding Stolen Packages At Kensington CVS: Police A 24-year-old man, hundreds of miles from home, tried to pull a fast one on police in Maryland. Now he's facing criminal charges for using a false government ID, police say. Houston native Elijah Gonzalez is facing charges following a strange theft scheme that played out last month in Montgomery County, ending with him in handcuffs. According to the Montgomery County Department of Police, in May, a victim's credit card was used to make multiple unauthorized transactions at Costco. The next day, investigators were notified of the fraudulent purchases, prompting an investigation that led…

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by Zak Failla
Aberdeen, MD
Your Community
'Didn't Lose Any Of Them': Goose Family Escorted To Safety Off I-95 In Aberdeen (WATCH) 'Didn't Lose Any Of Them': Goose Family Escorted To Safety Off I-95 In Aberdeen (WATCH) 'Didn't Lose Any Of Them': Goose Family Escorted To Safety Off I-95 In Aberdeen (WATCH)
'Didn't Lose Any Of Them': Goose Family Escorted To Safety Off I-95 In Aberdeen (Watch) A family of geese took a wrong turn onto one of Maryland's busiest highways Tuesday morning, leading to a dramatic rescue caught on camera. Five tiny goslings found themselves in a dangerous place Tuesday morning, June 2, when a family of geese ended up in the right lane of I-95 near mile marker 77.5 outside Aberdeen. What happened next looked more like a scene from a cartoon than a police call. The ducks being rescued in Aberdeen. Aberdeen Police Department Body camera footage released by the Aberdeen Police Department shows Officer Buettner and several Good Samaritans working tog…

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by Zak Failla
Chesapeake City, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Man Survives Screwdriver Stabbing During Bar Fight, Ends Night In Handcuffs: Sheriff Maryland Man Survives Screwdriver Stabbing During Bar Fight, Ends Night In Handcuffs: Sheriff Maryland Man Survives Screwdriver Stabbing During Bar Fight, Ends Night In Handcuffs: Sheriff
Maryland Man Survives Screwdriver Stabbing During Bar Fight, Ends Night In Handcuffs: Sheriff David Reidy Brosnahan's night in Maryland started with him being stabbed with a screwdriver during a fight outside a bar. It ended in handcuffs. The 54-year-old District resident joined Chesapeake native Nathan Oliver White, 44, behind bars following a fight that was reported outside Traders Steak & Ale over the weekend, according to the Calvert County Sheriff's Office. Deputies were called around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, to the restaurant in the 3800 block of Gordon Stinnett Avenue in Chesapeake Beach to investigate a reported altercation involving two men. Investigators say th…

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by Zak Failla
Sterling, VA
Breaking News
Sewn Into Underwear, Hidden In Pants: Nearly $100K Seized From Dulles Travelers Sewn Into Underwear, Hidden In Pants: Nearly $100K Seized From Dulles Travelers Sewn Into Underwear, Hidden In Pants: Nearly $100K Seized From Dulles Travelers
Sewn Into Underwear, Hidden In Pants: Nearly $100K Seized From Dulles Travelers What started as a few simple questions at Dulles International Airport turned into a search for cash hidden in purses, secret pockets, and even women's underwear. By the end of Memorial Day weekend, US Customs and Border Protection officers had seized nearly $100,000 in unreported currency from two groups of travelers headed to Belgium. The strangest part? The money wasn't illegal. The travelers just allegedly didn't tell the truth about how much they were carrying. On Saturday, May 23, CBP officers and Vito, a nearly 2-year-old German Shepherd trained to detect currency, stopped a US ci…

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by Zak Failla
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