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
Kilos Hidden In Secret Car Compartment Fueled Cocaine Pipeline Into DC Region: DOJ Kilos Hidden In Secret Car Compartment Fueled Cocaine Pipeline Into DC Region: DOJ Kilos Hidden In Secret Car Compartment Fueled Cocaine Pipeline Into DC Region: DOJ
Kilos Hidden In Secret Car Compartment Fueled Cocaine Pipeline Into DC Region: DOJ A crafty cocaine supplier who trafficked kilos from New York to the DC area in a secret compartment will spend years behind bars. Daryl Smith-Winfree, 44, was sentenced to 96 months in prison for his role in a large-scale drug distribution conspiracy that flooded parts of the region with cocaine, federal authorities announced. The FBI began investigating the conspiracy in the summer of 2024, uncovering a network that moved cocaine through the District, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. Authorities say Smith-Winfree personally transported kilogram quantities of cocaine to customers in t…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
On Your Side
Maryland’s Preakness Rights Sold For $85M, But The Race Can Still Be Run Locally Maryland’s Preakness Rights Sold For $85M, But The Race Can Still Be Run Locally Maryland’s Preakness Rights Sold For $85M, But The Race Can Still Be Run Locally
Maryland’s Preakness Rights Sold For $85M, But The Race Can Still Be Run Locally One of Maryland’s biggest sporting traditions just changed hands — the rights to the Preakness Stakes have been sold, putting ownership of the iconic race’s brand in new hands. Churchill Downs Incorporated, the company behind the Kentucky Derby, announced Tuesday, April 21, that it has reached a deal to purchase the intellectual property rights to the Preakness Stakes and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes for $85 million. The deal gives Churchill Downs control of the name, trademarks, and branding tied to the races — not the event itself. Under the agreement, the company will license those rights ba…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Four Charged In Frederick Gunpoint Robbery After Victim’s Handgun Stolen, Sheriff Says Four Charged In Frederick Gunpoint Robbery After Victim’s Handgun Stolen, Sheriff Says Four Charged In Frederick Gunpoint Robbery After Victim’s Handgun Stolen, Sheriff Says
Four Charged In Frederick Gunpoint Robbery After Victim’s Handgun Stolen, Sheriff Says A Maryland robbery investigation has led to four arrests after a victim was held at gunpoint and had a handgun stolen, authorities said. The case unfolded in Frederick, where deputies began investigating an armed robbery reported on Feb. 19 in the 7200 block of Corporate Court, according to the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators say the victim was approached by two male suspects and robbed at gunpoint during the incident. The suspects made off with a handgun and other personal property, officials said. The case didn’t end there. As part of a separate firearms investigation,…

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by Zak Failla
Columbia, MD
Breaking News
Viral Gas Station Shooting Suspect Captured Out Of State After Clerk Shot In Columbia: Police Viral Gas Station Shooting Suspect Captured Out Of State After Clerk Shot In Columbia: Police Viral Gas Station Shooting Suspect Captured Out Of State After Clerk Shot In Columbia: Police
Viral Gas Station Shooting Suspect Captured Out Of State After Clerk Shot In Columbia: Police The Virginia woman who went viral following a gas station shooting that was caught on camera in Maryland has been apprehended, authorities announced. Shantay Lashay O'Donnell, 46, has been identified as the shooter in the attempted robbery of a Shell station over the weekend, according to the Howard County Police Department. On Tuesday, April 21, police say O'Donnell was arrested in another state on unrelated charges. Shortly before 7:45 p.m. on Friday, April 17, officers were called to the Shell gas station in the 7200 block of Cradlerock Way to investigate a reported shooting involving a…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Man Accused Of Sexual Assault Inside Woodbridge Gabe’s Arrested After Days On The Run: Police Man Accused Of Sexual Assault Inside Woodbridge Gabe’s Arrested After Days On The Run: Police Man Accused Of Sexual Assault Inside Woodbridge Gabe’s Arrested After Days On The Run: Police
Man Accused Of Sexual Assault Inside Woodbridge Gabe’s Arrested After Days On The Run: Police The man accused of sexually assaulting a woman inside a Virginia Gabe's location is no longer at large. Dumfries native Kendall Jamal Miller, 24, was taken into custody on Monday, April 20, more than two weeks after an alleged assault inside the Woodbridge store on Richmond Highway. The case began the evening of April 3, when a 39-year-old woman was shopping inside Gabe’s and was approached by a man she didn’t know. Police say he touched her inappropriately, then walked away. There was no further contact. He was gone before officers arrived. Investigators later identified Miller and …

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
Grammy-Winner Billy Strings Breaks Leg In Virginia Skateboard Mishap: 'Feel Like Such An Idiot' Grammy-Winner Billy Strings Breaks Leg In Virginia Skateboard Mishap: 'Feel Like Such An Idiot' Grammy-Winner Billy Strings Breaks Leg In Virginia Skateboard Mishap: 'Feel Like Such An Idiot'
Grammy-Winner Billy Strings Breaks Leg In Virginia Skateboard Mishap: 'Feel Like Such An Idiot' Grammy-winning Bluegrass artist Billy Strings was scheduled for back-to-back shows in Virginia. Then the 33-year-old musician and skateboard enthusiast broke his leg in what he is calling a "dumb ass mistake," while attempting a trick he's performed "a million times." Strings, born William Apostol, said he could hear the snap of his bone over the sound of the sell-out crowd in Charlottesville. "Well, can’t say y’all didn’t warn me about screwing around on my skateboard," he posted on Monday afternoon. "Saturday night, I walked off stage right before the encore. I was all zazzed up from a r…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Obituaries
Maryland Father Dies Suddenly From Ruptured Aorta, Leaves Two Kids Behind: ‘Immeasurable Void’ Maryland Father Dies Suddenly From Ruptured Aorta, Leaves Two Kids Behind: ‘Immeasurable Void’ Maryland Father Dies Suddenly From Ruptured Aorta, Leaves Two Kids Behind: ‘Immeasurable Void’
Maryland Father Dies Suddenly From Ruptured Aorta, Leaves Two Kids Behind: ‘Immeasurable Void’ Fernando Martinez wasn’t sick. He wasn’t in the hospital. And then, suddenly, he was gone. The Maryland father died unexpectedly on Friday, April 17, after suffering a ruptured aorta, a catastrophic medical emergency that left his family with no time to prepare for life without him. He leaves behind two young children, Alejandro and Sophia, who were at the center of everything he did. Fernando Martinez GoFundMe “Fernando was more than a neighbor - he was a kind, hardworking, and caring presence whose warmth touched so many,” family friend Kyra Vocci wrote. In Greenbrier, where…

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by Zak Failla
Arbutus-Halethorpe, MD
Breaking News
Arbutus Husband Charged With Murder Decades After Wife Mysteriously Disappeared: Police Arbutus Husband Charged With Murder Decades After Wife Mysteriously Disappeared: Police Arbutus Husband Charged With Murder Decades After Wife Mysteriously Disappeared: Police
Arbutus Husband Charged With Murder Decades After Wife Mysteriously Disappeared: Police More than two decades later, one of Maryland's most prolific missing persons cases may have been cracked. Dwight "DJ" Rust Jr. has been charged in connection with the murder of his wife, Michelle Rust, who mysteriously vanished in July 2002. On Saturday, July 20, 2002, officers from the Baltimore County Police Department were called to the 1800 block of Clark Boulevard in Arbutus, where Dwight Rust told officers that his wife had left to pick up items for their son's birthday party and never returned. According to investigators, while it was first believed she disappeared on the way to the…

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by Zak Failla
Hagerstown, MD
Obituaries
Family Of Maryland Man Killed On Lawnmower Racing To Bring Him Home To Mexico Family Of Maryland Man Killed On Lawnmower Racing To Bring Him Home To Mexico Family Of Maryland Man Killed On Lawnmower Racing To Bring Him Home To Mexico
Family Of Maryland Man Killed On Lawnmower Racing To Bring Him Home To Mexico The family of a Maryland man killed while riding a lawnmower along a highway shoulder is now racing to bring him home to Mexico. Joel Garcia, 42, died on Wednesday, April 15 in Denton, after being hit by a pickup truck while riding a John Deere lawnmower on the shoulder of Burrsville Road near Garland Road, Maryland State Police said. Now, days after the deadly crash, Garcia’s family says they are facing an even more difficult task — laying him to rest. “Yesterday, April 15, my husband lost his life in a tragic accident; he was struck by a car while working as a lawnmower,” his wife wrote …

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by Zak Failla
Pasadena-Lake Shore, MD
Breaking News
4/20 Stop Goes Sideways: Suspect Crashes, Drugs And Gun Recovered In Pasadena 4/20 Stop Goes Sideways: Suspect Crashes, Drugs And Gun Recovered In Pasadena 4/20 Stop Goes Sideways: Suspect Crashes, Drugs And Gun Recovered In Pasadena
4/20 Stop Goes Sideways: Suspect Crashes, Drugs And Gun Recovered In Pasadena Marijuana wasn't the only thing investigators in Maryland recovered during a 4/20 traffic stop that turned into a massive drug bust, police say. Detectives from the Anne Arundel County Police Department stopped Baltimore resident Ryan Kelly Hazel, 32, shortly before 11:30 p.m. on Monday, April 20, in the area of Solley Road and Energy Parkway in Pasadena.  According to investigators, the vehicle initially stopped, but fled as investigators approached before crashing a short distance away. While probing the crash, police say that Hazel could be seen attempting to conceal items under a …

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by Zak Failla
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