Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

[email protected]

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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

Stafford, VA
Breaking News
Stafford Man Bites Deputy, Tries To Grab Tasers During Chaotic Traffic Stop: Sheriff Stafford Man Bites Deputy, Tries To Grab Tasers During Chaotic Traffic Stop: Sheriff Stafford Man Bites Deputy, Tries To Grab Tasers During Chaotic Traffic Stop: Sheriff
Stafford Man Bites Deputy, Tries To Grab Tasers During Chaotic Traffic Stop: Sheriff A Virginia man tried to grab deputies’ tasers, ripped at a radio cord, and bit an officer during a traffic stop that quickly spiraled out of control, authorities said. The stop happened in Stafford around 1:20 a.m. on Sunday, May 3, after a deputy spotted a vehicle with expired tags near Ramoth Church Road and Dog Patch Lane. What started as a routine stop didn’t stay that way for long. The driver, later identified as 39-year-old Brandon Blackburn, admitted to using narcotics and having illegal items in the vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office. When he was asked to step out, Blackbu…

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by Zak Failla
Cockeysville-Hunt Valley, MD
Obituaries
Black Belt Ryan Duvall, 18, Mourned After Deadly Maryland Crash: 'A Light In All Of Our Lives' Black Belt Ryan Duvall, 18, Mourned After Deadly Maryland Crash: 'A Light In All Of Our Lives' Black Belt Ryan Duvall, 18, Mourned After Deadly Maryland Crash: 'A Light In All Of Our Lives'
Black Belt Ryan Duvall, 18, Mourned After Deadly Maryland Crash: 'A Light In All Of Our Lives' Ryan Duvall was just 18, a first-year college student, a dedicated martial artist, and someone those closest to him say brought light into every room he entered. Now, his family and community are mourning his sudden loss after a crash in Maryland late Friday night. Shortly before 9:45 p.m. on May 1, officers were called to the intersection of Poplar Hill Road and Merrymans Mill Road in Cockeysville, where a single vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree. Duvall, who was a passenger, was pronounced dead at the scene. A teen driver and another passenger were taken to the hospital with lif…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Driver Going Twice The Speed Limit Before Deadly Maryland Crash Gets Max Sentence Driver Going Twice The Speed Limit Before Deadly Maryland Crash Gets Max Sentence Driver Going Twice The Speed Limit Before Deadly Maryland Crash Gets Max Sentence
Driver Going Twice The Speed Limit Before Deadly Maryland Crash Gets Max Sentence A Maryland man who was driving more than twice the speed limit before slamming into a tree and killing his passenger is heading to jail. Jeffrey Garnett Jr., 38, of Eden, was sentenced to serve one year behind bars in Wicomico County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to criminally negligent vehicular manslaughter earlier this year. The crash happened around 10 p.m. on Sept. 2, 2024, on Cottman Road in Allen, when deputies responded to a single-vehicle crash. Investigators determined Garnett was behind the wheel of a Ford Lightning pickup truck when it left the roadway and crashed into a …

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by Zak Failla
Indian Head-Nanjemoy, MD
Breaking News
Indian Head Father Killed, 9-Year-Old Daughter Injured In Hit-Run Crash In Maryland: Police Indian Head Father Killed, 9-Year-Old Daughter Injured In Hit-Run Crash In Maryland: Police Indian Head Father Killed, 9-Year-Old Daughter Injured In Hit-Run Crash In Maryland: Police
Indian Head Father Killed, 9-Year-Old Daughter Injured In Hit-Run Crash In Maryland: Police A young father is dead, and his daughter was injured in a hit-and-run crash after the driver fled on foot in Southern Maryland, state police say. Indian Head resident Harry Washington III, 32, has been identified as the motorcyclist who was struck by the driver of an orange 2013 Dodge Dart who then ran away from the scene. A 9-year-old girl was also on the motorcycle at the time of the crash. Both she and Washington were airlifted to area hospitals where he died from his injuries. Investigators say that around 7:40 p.m. on Sunday, May 3, troopers were called to a stretch of Route 210 near …

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Woman Groped, Man Exposes Himself On Canal Path In Fredericksburg, Police Say Woman Groped, Man Exposes Himself On Canal Path In Fredericksburg, Police Say Woman Groped, Man Exposes Himself On Canal Path In Fredericksburg, Police Say
Woman Groped, Man Exposes Himself On Canal Path In Fredericksburg, Police Say Detectives in Northern Virginia are investigating a new case of sexual assault on the Canal Path after a woman was groped and a man exposed himself to her, police say. At around 9:30 p.m. on Friday, May 1, officers from the Fredericksburg Police Department were called to investigate a reported assault on the path involving a Hispanic man who targeted a woman. The victim said she left the Fredericksburg Shopping Center and was walking along Emancipation Highway when she accessed the Canal Path from the southbound side. After walking under the bridge, a man ran up behind her, grabbed her, as…

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by Zak Failla
Ellicott City, MD
Obituaries
Maryland DOT Worker From Ellicott City Remembered As Devoted Father, Navy Veteran Maryland DOT Worker From Ellicott City Remembered As Devoted Father, Navy Veteran Maryland DOT Worker From Ellicott City Remembered As Devoted Father, Navy Veteran
Maryland DOT Worker From Ellicott City Remembered As Devoted Father, Navy Veteran Saturday, April 25, started out like any other day for Robert Dempsey in Maryland. The 40-year-old Ellicott City man woke up and went to work serving others as an Emergency Response Technician on the Coordinated Highways Action Response Team (CHART) with the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration. Then he was gone. Dempsey was struck and killed shortly before noon that day while working along the Inner Loop near Route 414 in Forestville, according to state police. The preliminary investigation indicates a highway worker, later identified as Dempsey,…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Baltimore County Man Accused Of Killing Father-In-Law During Domestic Dispute: Police Baltimore County Man Accused Of Killing Father-In-Law During Domestic Dispute: Police Baltimore County Man Accused Of Killing Father-In-Law During Domestic Dispute: Police
Baltimore County Man Accused Of Killing Father-In-Law During Domestic Dispute: Police A Maryland man is accused of killing his own father-in-law, reportedly a personal injury attorney, during a domestic incident in Baltimore County, police say. Mark Ryan, 41, has been charged in connection with the murder of 74-year-old Robert Macmeekin over the weekend, authorities announced. The shooting was reported shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, in the 14000 block of Sawmill Court in Phoenix. According to the Baltimore County Police Department, officers responding to the home found Macmeekin inside a home suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.  It was later determin…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Tree Line Stops Fugitive's Escape In Virginia After Late-Night Chase, Sheriff Says Tree Line Stops Fugitive's Escape In Virginia After Late-Night Chase, Sheriff Says Tree Line Stops Fugitive's Escape In Virginia After Late-Night Chase, Sheriff Says
Tree Line Stops Fugitive's Escape In Virginia After Late-Night Chase, Sheriff Says A line of trees thwarted a wanted man in Virginia whose getaway from sheriff's deputies was cut short as he attempted to evade arrest. Michael Knight had a night to forget over the weekend, when the man wanted in Loudoun, Prince William, and Arlington counties was spotted by members of the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office. Officials say that shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 3, a License Plate Reader north of Warrenton alerted on a vehicle connected to a man wanted on multiple charges, including malicious wounding, in multiple municipalities. The vehicle was located by responding…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Drunk Woodbridge Man Accused Of Inappropriate Contact With Officer While In Custody: Police Drunk Woodbridge Man Accused Of Inappropriate Contact With Officer While In Custody: Police Drunk Woodbridge Man Accused Of Inappropriate Contact With Officer While In Custody: Police
Drunk Woodbridge Man Accused Of Inappropriate Contact With Officer While In Custody: Police A Woodbridge man is facing charges after police say he attempted inappropriate contact with an officer while being taken into custody in Prince William County. The incident happened around 7:36 p.m. on Friday, May 2, along Joplin Road between mile markers 19 and 20 in Triangle, where officers responded to a report of a man walking in the roadway. When officers arrived, they made contact with the man — later identified as 27-year-old Christian Ricardo Guzman Llanos — and determined he was intoxicated. He was detained at the scene. While in custody, police say Guzman Llanos attempted inappr…

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by Zak Failla
Potomac, MD
Breaking News
Kayaker Dies At Hospital After Potomac River Rescue Near Great Falls, Officials Say Kayaker Dies At Hospital After Potomac River Rescue Near Great Falls, Officials Say Kayaker Dies At Hospital After Potomac River Rescue Near Great Falls, Officials Say
Kayaker Dies At Hospital After Potomac River Rescue Near Great Falls, Officials Say A kayaker has died after a dramatic rescue effort on the Potomac River near Great Falls, officials confirmed late Sunday night. The incident began shortly after 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 3, when emergency crews were called to the river near Great Falls in Montgomery County for reports of three people in the water, including one who was unconscious. Rescue teams from Montgomery County and Fairfax County responded and launched a swift water operation. Officials said the group became separated from their kayaks in fast-moving water and made their way to shore on the Virginia side of the river. O…

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by Zak Failla
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