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

South Riding, VA
Your Community
Hidden Filming Investigation At Freedom High School Expands Beyond Campus, Sheriff Says Hidden Filming Investigation At Freedom High School Expands Beyond Campus, Sheriff Says Hidden Filming Investigation At Freedom High School Expands Beyond Campus, Sheriff Says
Hidden Filming Investigation At Freedom High School Expands Beyond Campus, Sheriff Says A hidden filming investigation tied to a Virginia high school is now expanding beyond campus after detectives identified at least one additional location and charged a minor. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office announced on Friday, May 22, that a juvenile male is facing charges tied to an unlawful filming investigation connected to Freedom High School. Authorities say the case remains active and investigators now believe unlawful filming may have happened in at least one other location outside the original incident. Exactly where the additional filming allegedly occurred has not been relea…

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by Zak Failla
Aberdeen, MD
Breaking News
Man Who Sent Harford County Lieutenant Flying 30 Feet During I-95 Chase Learns Prison Fate Man Who Sent Harford County Lieutenant Flying 30 Feet During I-95 Chase Learns Prison Fate Man Who Sent Harford County Lieutenant Flying 30 Feet During I-95 Chase Learns Prison Fate
Man Who Sent Harford County Lieutenant Flying 30 Feet During I-95 Chase Learns Prison Fate The 22-year-old New Yorker who sent a Maryland sheriff’s lieutenant flying 30 feet through the air during a violent wrong-way pursuit on I-95 before fleeing into the woods has been sentenced to decades behind bars. Juan Quiroz-Manzueta pleaded guilty this week to a host of charges in Harford County Circuit Court following a bizarre series of events that ended with a top-ranking officer suffering critical injuries. The case stemmed from a chaotic 36-minute pursuit across Harford County on Aug. 26, 2025, after Lt. Robert Burgess spotted a white Penske box truck driving erratically on Rou…

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by Zak Failla
Springfield, VA
Breaking News
Former Officer Working At Virginia School Arrested Soliciting Minor In Springfield: Police Former Officer Working At Virginia School Arrested Soliciting Minor In Springfield: Police Former Officer Working At Virginia School Arrested Soliciting Minor In Springfield: Police
Former Officer Working At Virginia School Arrested Soliciting Minor In Springfield: Police A former police officer in DC who was serving as a mental health associate for schools in Virginia is facing charges for soliciting a minor online. Lawrence Lofzewski, 37, was arrested in his Springfield home following a probe into a tip provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding "disturbing online content" he posted about kids, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. During the investigation, officials say Lofzewski communicated with detectives posing as a minor on the Internet, engaged in inappropriate conversations, and solicited sexual e…

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
Fugitive Accused Of Repeatedly Sexually Abusing Minor Captured By Feds: Charles County Sheriff Fugitive Accused Of Repeatedly Sexually Abusing Minor Captured By Feds: Charles County Sheriff Fugitive Accused Of Repeatedly Sexually Abusing Minor Captured By Feds: Charles County Sheriff
Fugitive Accused Of Repeatedly Sexually Abusing Minor Captured By Feds: Charles County Sheriff A 45-year-old man who allegedly sexually abused a minor repeatedly has been apprehended in Maryland, authorities announced on Friday. Riverdale native Jose Mercedes Pineda-Callejas was arrested on Thursday, May 21, in Landover by members of the Charles County Sheriff's Office and federal authorities, officials say. According to investigators, Pineda-Callejas was arrested and charged with multiple sexual offenses involving a minor. Pineda-Callejas was later indicted by a grand jury in Charles County on multiple counts of rape, sexual assault, and other related offenses, and an arrest warran…

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by Zak Failla
Newington, CT
Breaking News
Newington Man Arrested In 1986 Rape, Stabbing Murder Of Virginia Beach Woman: Police Newington Man Arrested In 1986 Rape, Stabbing Murder Of Virginia Beach Woman: Police Newington Man Arrested In 1986 Rape, Stabbing Murder Of Virginia Beach Woman: Police
Newington Man Arrested In 1986 Rape, Stabbing Murder Of Virginia Beach Woman: Police A Connecticut man has been arrested decades after police say he raped and murdered a 22-year-old Virginia Beach woman whose body was found with fatal stab wounds in a field in 1986. Charles Berry, 66, was taken into custody this week in Newington in connection with his alleged role in the brutal murder of Roberta Walls 40 years ago, according to Virginia Beach Police. Walls’ body was discovered just after sunrise on May 15, 1986, in a field along Ferry Plantation Drive in Virginia Beach. Roberta Walls Virginia Beach Police Investigators determined the young woman had been sexually …

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by Zak Failla
Hagerstown, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Most Wanted Mom Vanished Before 100-Year Sentence In Infant Death Case: US Marshals Maryland Most Wanted Mom Vanished Before 100-Year Sentence In Infant Death Case: US Marshals Maryland Most Wanted Mom Vanished Before 100-Year Sentence In Infant Death Case: US Marshals
Maryland Most Wanted Mom Vanished Before 100-Year Sentence In Infant Death Case: US Marshals A Maryland mother convicted in the death of her 10-month-old daughter vanished before sentencing and is now one of the US Marshals’ “Major Cases,” authorities announced. Ashley Nicole Franklin, 39, is wanted after failing to appear for sentencing in Washington County Circuit Court on Aug. 13, 2025, according to the US Marshals Service. Franklin had already been found guilty by a jury on charges including first-degree child abuse resulting in death, involuntary manslaughter, and related offenses tied to the 2021 death of her infant daughter. Despite the conviction, Franklin was released on …

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by Zak Failla
McLean, VA
Breaking News
Person, Dog Pulled From Burning McLean Mansion As Massive Blaze Erupts Overnight Person, Dog Pulled From Burning McLean Mansion As Massive Blaze Erupts Overnight Person, Dog Pulled From Burning McLean Mansion As Massive Blaze Erupts Overnight
Person, Dog Pulled From Burning McLean Mansion As Massive Blaze Erupts Overnight A person and a dog were rescued from a burning Virginia home early Friday morning as firefighters battled a massive two-alarm blaze that tore through a luxury property, authorities said. The fire broke out just before 1 a.m. on May 22, in the 900 block of Turkey Run Road in McLean, according to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue officials. First-arriving crews encountered smoke pouring from the multi-story home with flames burning in the garage area after reports came in that someone was trapped on the second floor, officials said. Firefighters rushed inside as the situation worsened. Crews l…

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
Freed Fraud Suspect Listed Victim’s Apartment As Home Before Second Arrest In Waldorf: Sheriff Freed Fraud Suspect Listed Victim’s Apartment As Home Before Second Arrest In Waldorf: Sheriff Freed Fraud Suspect Listed Victim’s Apartment As Home Before Second Arrest In Waldorf: Sheriff
Freed Fraud Suspect Listed Victim’s Apartment As Home Before Second Arrest In Waldorf: Sheriff It took Annaya Lisette Hines less than a week to land back behind bars. And she did not make it difficult for detectives in Maryland. The 26-year-old was arrested on Thursday, May 14, in connection with an ongoing identity theft and fraud investigation after allegedly stealing victims' banking information. The investigation began in September 2025, according to the Charles County Sheriff's Office, when Hines fraudulently obtained a victim’s banking information and used it to make unauthorized electronic payments to cover bills. Between then and late January 2026, investigators s…

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by Zak Failla
Columbia, MD
Breaking News
Marine Veteran Officer Talks Desperate Man Off Maryland Overpass Above Howard County Traffic Marine Veteran Officer Talks Desperate Man Off Maryland Overpass Above Howard County Traffic Marine Veteran Officer Talks Desperate Man Off Maryland Overpass Above Howard County Traffic
Marine Veteran Officer Talks Desperate Man Off Maryland Overpass Above Howard County Traffic A Maryland police officer used a shared Marine Corps bond to help save a desperate man threatening to jump from an overpass above moving traffic, authorities said. The tense encounter unfolded earlier this month on the Route 29 ramp above Route 40, where officers found the man standing on the outside of a chain-link fence directly over the highway, according to police. Officer Brim-Henderson was first to reach the scene and began speaking with the man as cars passed below. Moments later, PFC Moxley arrived and learned the man was also a Marine Corps veteran, Howard County Police said. Tha…

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by Zak Failla
Sterling, VA
Your Community
Sterling 'Real Estate Agent' Took Deposits, Never Delivered Homes In Virginia, Sheriff Says Sterling 'Real Estate Agent' Took Deposits, Never Delivered Homes In Virginia, Sheriff Says Sterling 'Real Estate Agent' Took Deposits, Never Delivered Homes In Virginia, Sheriff Says
Sterling 'Real Estate Agent' Took Deposits, Never Delivered Homes In Virginia, Sheriff Says A Virginia woman is accused of cashing in on desperate renters by posing as a real estate agent, collecting security deposits and first month’s rent before vanishing without handing over the keys, authorities say. Kimberly Vu, 45, of Sterling, was indicted by a grand jury on 26 charges this week following what investigators described as an extensive fraud investigation by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities say Vu allegedly operated a rental scam targeting people searching for homes, townhouses, and rooms to rent. Investigators allege Vu contacted potential renters, collected …

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by Zak Failla
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