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

Hyattsville, MD
Breaking News
Two Men Charged With Killing Hyattsville-Area Driver They Didn't Know, Motive Remains Mystery Two Men Charged With Killing Hyattsville-Area Driver They Didn't Know, Motive Remains Mystery Two Men Charged With Killing Hyattsville-Area Driver They Didn't Know, Motive Remains Mystery
Two Men Charged With Killing Hyattsville-Area Driver They Didn't Know, Motive Remains Mystery Brian Vasquez Rodriguez never made it out of the driver's seat. Nearly two weeks after the 33-year-old was found shot to death behind the wheel of his car in Maryland, two men have been arrested on murder charges, though investigators still don't know what led to the killing. Officers found the Adelphi resident shortly after 4:15 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 6, inside his vehicle on the 2200 block of Lewisdale Drive in the Hyattsville area, according to Prince George's County Police. Rodriguez had been shot and could not be saved. For the next 10 days, homicide detectives worked the case before …

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by Zak Failla
Sterling, VA
Breaking News
Three Cats Needed Oxygen After Flames Broke Out Inside Sterling Home: Fire Officials Three Cats Needed Oxygen After Flames Broke Out Inside Sterling Home: Fire Officials Three Cats Needed Oxygen After Flames Broke Out Inside Sterling Home: Fire Officials
Three Cats Needed Oxygen After Flames Broke Out Inside Sterling Home: Fire Officials A forgotten stove turned into a six-figure problem for a Virginia family. A Friday morning fire in Loudoun County caused more than $170,000 in damage, displaced nine people and left one of the family's four cats dead, officials said. Crews were called to the 100 block of Garfield Road in Sterling at approximately 9:50 a.m. on Sept. 18, where firefighters found smoke pushing from the first floor and roofline of the two-story home. The homeowner had already escaped. Firefighters knocked down the flames in the kitchen and searched the home to make sure the fire had not spread. Then attentio…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
23 Years After Joshua Crawford Was Murdered On His Birthday, Frederick Man Charged: Sheriff 23 Years After Joshua Crawford Was Murdered On His Birthday, Frederick Man Charged: Sheriff 23 Years After Joshua Crawford Was Murdered On His Birthday, Frederick Man Charged: Sheriff
23 Years After Joshua Crawford Was Murdered On His Birthday, Frederick Man Charged: Sheriff For 23 years, the killing of Joshua Wayne Crawford never went away. Now, a Maryland man has been arrested in the cold case murder of Crawford, who was found dead on what would have been his 21st birthday, the Frederick County Sheriff's Office announced on Friday, Sept. 18. Tavon Jamar Willis, 46, of Frederick, was taken into custody after a grand jury returned an indictment Friday morning connecting him to Crawford's 2003 murder, according to the sheriff's office. Crawford was found murdered inside his Exeter Court apartment on July 2, 2003. He would have turned 21 that day. The Maryland…

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by Zak Failla
Triangle-Dumfries, VA
Breaking News
Third Floor Of Virginia Motel Became Protected Drug, Sex Marketplace, Feds Say Third Floor Of Virginia Motel Became Protected Drug, Sex Marketplace, Feds Say Third Floor Of Virginia Motel Became Protected Drug, Sex Marketplace, Feds Say
Third Floor Of Virginia Motel Became Protected Drug, Sex Marketplace, Feds Say The third floor wasn't just another place to spend the night. Federal prosecutors say it became the moneymaker at a Virginia motel, where rooms cost extra for guests who wanted a protected place to buy and sell drugs or engage in commercial sex. Now, the woman who helped run it is headed to federal prison for more than a decade. Kosha Sharma, 53, who operated the Red Carpet Inn in Dumfries with her husband, was sentenced on Thursday, Sept. 17, to 10 years and 10 months behind bars for conspiring to distribute fentanyl and managing a drug-involved premises, according to federal prosecutors.…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
Attempt To Slip Past Turning Car Ends In Deadly Manassas Crash Into Parked Tractor-Trailer: PD Attempt To Slip Past Turning Car Ends In Deadly Manassas Crash Into Parked Tractor-Trailer: PD Attempt To Slip Past Turning Car Ends In Deadly Manassas Crash Into Parked Tractor-Trailer: PD
Attempt To Slip Past Turning Car Ends In Deadly Manassas Crash Into Parked Tractor-Trailer: PD It was an attempt to get around a turning car. It ended with a 21-year-old driver dead in Virginia. Sayed Mohammad Hamed Shams, of Manassas Park, was killed shortly before 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17, when his Toyota Corolla went off Hansen Farm Road in Bristow and crashed into a parked tractor-trailer, according to Prince William County Police. Investigators say Shams was heading north when the driver ahead of him began making a right onto Wellingford Road. Shams tried to go around. Police say he crossed the double yellow lines to pass the turning vehicle, but lost control of the Co…

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by Zak Failla
Germantown, MD
Breaking News
Nearly 40-Year Career Ends Suddenly As Montgomery County Police Chief Marc Yamada Resigns Nearly 40-Year Career Ends Suddenly As Montgomery County Police Chief Marc Yamada Resigns Nearly 40-Year Career Ends Suddenly As Montgomery County Police Chief Marc Yamada Resigns
Nearly 40-Year Career Ends Suddenly As Montgomery County Police Chief Marc Yamada Resigns Maryland has lost one of its top cops somewhat unexpectedly. Montgomery County Police Chief Marc Yamada resigned effective immediately on Friday, Sept. 18, abruptly ending a nearly four-decade career with the department. County Executive Marc Elrich confirmed the resignation on Friday, saying he accepted Yamada's decision and naming Assistant Chief Darren Francke as acting chief. No reason for Yamada's sudden departure was provided. “I want to thank Chief Yamada for his nearly four decades of dedicated service to Montgomery County and the Montgomery County Police Department,” Elrich said.…

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by Zak Failla
Olney, MD
Your Community
No Juice For The Chick: Olney Restaurant's Long-Awaited Opening Delayed Again No Juice For The Chick: Olney Restaurant's Long-Awaited Opening Delayed Again No Juice For The Chick: Olney Restaurant's Long-Awaited Opening Delayed Again
No Juice For The Chick: Olney Restaurant's Long-Awaited Opening Delayed Again Maryland, we have a problem. Chicken Salad Chick was preparing to finally open its long-awaited Olney restaurant on Wednesday, Sept. 23, complete with five days of giveaways and free food for some of its earliest customers. There’s just one fairly important thing missing. Electricity. The owners of the new restaurant at 18209 Village Center Drive in the Olney Village Center announced that the grand opening has been delayed until at least mid-October because they are still waiting for power. And they aren't hiding their frustration. “Olney Chick Friends...WE HAVE A PROBLEM,” owners Jim S…

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by Zak Failla
Leonardtown-California, MD
Your Community
Years To Build, Seconds To Wreck: Allegedly Drunk Driver Tears Through St. Mary's Dream Salon Years To Build, Seconds To Wreck: Allegedly Drunk Driver Tears Through St. Mary's Dream Salon Years To Build, Seconds To Wreck: Allegedly Drunk Driver Tears Through St. Mary's Dream Salon
Years To Build, Seconds To Wreck: Allegedly Drunk Driver Tears Through St. Mary's Dream Salon Years went into building their dream. It took seconds to tear through it. An allegedly drunk driver crashed into a Maryland salon shortly before 10:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, ripping through the front of the building and leaving four stylists without the workplace they spent years creating. The crash happened at The Babe Cave in the 29900 block of Point Lookout Road, where firefighters arrived to find the vehicle lodged in the front porch and entryway, according to the Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department. The Babe Cave Mechanicsville Fire Department via GoFundMe A util…

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by Zak Failla
Bowie, MD
Breaking News
$14M Medicaid Scheme Turned Minutes-Long Calls Into Full-Hour Bills, Bowie Nurse Admits: DOJ $14M Medicaid Scheme Turned Minutes-Long Calls Into Full-Hour Bills, Bowie Nurse Admits: DOJ $14M Medicaid Scheme Turned Minutes-Long Calls Into Full-Hour Bills, Bowie Nurse Admits: DOJ
$14M Medicaid Scheme Turned Minutes-Long Calls Into Full-Hour Bills, Bowie Nurse Admits: DOJ Millions of dollars. Thousands of claims. And some of the care allegedly never happened at all. A Maryland nurse admitted on Thursday, Sept. 17 to taking part in a sprawling $14 million DC Medicaid fraud scheme involving mental health services for children and teens, federal prosecutors said. Bowie resident Vera Nyiawung, 34, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit health care fraud after prosecutors said workers padded the length of phone calls, recycled patient notes and billed Medicaid for services that were never provided or were grossly inflated. And investigators say …

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by Zak Failla
Germantown, MD
Breaking News
Loaded Ghost Gun Found In Woods After Armed Robbery In Northwest High School Bathroom (UPDATED) Loaded Ghost Gun Found In Woods After Armed Robbery In Northwest High School Bathroom (UPDATED) Loaded Ghost Gun Found In Woods After Armed Robbery In Northwest High School Bathroom (UPDATED)
Loaded Ghost Gun Found In Woods After Armed Robbery In Northwest High School Bathroom (Updated) A reported gun inside a Maryland high school bathroom turned out to be part of something much larger. Three teens are now facing charges after police say a 15-year-old Northwest High School student pulled a handgun on another student and demanded money during an armed robbery on Thursday, Sept. 17. Montgomery County Police were called to the Germantown school at approximately 12:35 p.m., initially prompting a search for the armed student and a Secure status that kept students and staff inside. Police now say the incident began when a 15-year-old student was approached by another 15-year-ol…

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by Zak Failla
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