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

Woodbridge, VA
Obituaries
Woodbridge Children Face Life Without Parents After Fatal Wrong-Way Crash: 'Still In Disbelief' Woodbridge Children Face Life Without Parents After Fatal Wrong-Way Crash: 'Still In Disbelief' Woodbridge Children Face Life Without Parents After Fatal Wrong-Way Crash: 'Still In Disbelief'
Woodbridge Children Face Life Without Parents After Fatal Wrong-Way Crash: 'Still In Disbelief' Three children in Virginia are now facing the unthinkable — life without both of their parents after a deadly wrong-way crash. In Woodbridge, Amanda Chaloupka, 40, and Patrick Michael Chaloupka, 42, are being remembered not just for the tragedy that took them, but for the love they poured into their family every single day. The two leave behind three children — two daughters and a son — who are now facing life without the people who supported them most. Friends say that devotion defined the couple. “They constantly were on the field and always doing their best to support their daughter th…

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by Zak Failla
Potomac, MD
Breaking News
Ruff Landing: Car Takes Unexpected Dip In Potomac Dog Pool After Crashing Into K9 Center Ruff Landing: Car Takes Unexpected Dip In Potomac Dog Pool After Crashing Into K9 Center Ruff Landing: Car Takes Unexpected Dip In Potomac Dog Pool After Crashing Into K9 Center
Ruff Landing: Car Takes Unexpected Dip In Potomac Dog Pool After Crashing Into K9 Center Cannonball!  A driver in Montgomery County accidentally made a splash landing through the front of a building in the Potomac Oak Center, ending up in a swimming pool designed for dogs. First responders were called shortly before 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 12, to the K9 Aquatic Daycare Center on Travilah Road near Glen Road in Potomac, when a vehicle went through the storefront. The car came to rest in the swimming pool. K9 Aquatic Daycare Center Twitter/@mcfrsPIO According to Montgomery County Fire and EMS officials, the driver was evaluated by paramedics and taken to an ar…

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by Zak Failla
Silver Spring, MD
Breaking News
Silver Spring Navy Lieutenant Commander Who Cyberstalked Ex-Wife, Kids Learns Prison Fate Silver Spring Navy Lieutenant Commander Who Cyberstalked Ex-Wife, Kids Learns Prison Fate Silver Spring Navy Lieutenant Commander Who Cyberstalked Ex-Wife, Kids Learns Prison Fate
Silver Spring Navy Lieutenant Commander Who Cyberstalked Ex-Wife, Kids Learns Prison Fate A US Navy lieutenant commander will spend years behind bars after being convicted of a years-long cyberstalking campaign that targeted his ex-wife and their children, prosecutors announced in Maryland. A federal jury convicted Jason Michael Leidel, 45, of Silver Spring, on one count of cyberstalking following a two-week trial in December 2025, according to the US Attorney's Office. On Thursday, March 12, Leidel was sentenced to 41 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Leidel repeatedly sent …

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Gunfire Sparks Lexington Park Chase As Suspect Tosses Loaded Rifle From SUV: Sheriff Gunfire Sparks Lexington Park Chase As Suspect Tosses Loaded Rifle From SUV: Sheriff Gunfire Sparks Lexington Park Chase As Suspect Tosses Loaded Rifle From SUV: Sheriff
Gunfire Sparks Lexington Park Chase As Suspect Tosses Loaded Rifle From SUV: Sheriff Gunfire echoing through a Maryland neighborhood sent deputies racing and ended with a chase, a tossed rifle, and a man under arrest. The incident unfolded in St. Mary’s County in Lexington Park on Monday night, March 9, around 9:30 p.m., when deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office heard gunfire while conducting proactive patrols in the area of Bunker Hill Drive. The driver they soon encountered was Vanecalus Quntya Alexander, 38, of Lexington Park, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies responding to Bunker Hill Drive located a red Chevrolet Equinox with the passenger-si…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Arlington Fugitive Shot By Trooper In Delaware After Threatening To Blow Up Camper: DSP Arlington Fugitive Shot By Trooper In Delaware After Threatening To Blow Up Camper: DSP Arlington Fugitive Shot By Trooper In Delaware After Threatening To Blow Up Camper: DSP
Arlington Fugitive Shot By Trooper In Delaware After Threatening To Blow Up Camper: DSP A fugitive wanted for terroristic threats in Virginia was shot by a Delaware state trooper after barricading himself inside a camper and threatening to detonate gunpowder during a tense standoff with police, authorities said Thursday, March 12. Jeffrey Mitchem, wanted in Arlington on a felony, was the victim of an officer-involved shooting in Greenwood after he barricaded himself in a camper on Wednesday afternoon, March 11, Delaware State Police said. At around 1:30 p.m. on March 11, several agencies sought to execute a search warrant to apprehend the 60-year-old after he allegedly made th…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
WATCH: Fairfax Crew Uses Hydraulic Tool With Surgical Precision In ATM Break-Ins, Police Say WATCH: Fairfax Crew Uses Hydraulic Tool With Surgical Precision In ATM Break-Ins, Police Say WATCH: Fairfax Crew Uses Hydraulic Tool With Surgical Precision In ATM Break-Ins, Police Say
Watch: Fairfax Crew Uses Hydraulic Tool With Surgical Precision In ATM Break-Ins, Police Say The hunt is on for a group of thieves who have been breaking into ATMs across Virginia in targeted thefts using power tools, police say. The Fairfax County Police Department issued an alert on Thursday, March 12, seeking the public's assistance in locating a trio of thieves linked to at least three burglaries. Officers were first called around 2:15 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 27, to the 7-Eleven in the 5800 block of North Kings Highway in Huntington, where there was a broken front door and an ATM was damaged. Officers reviewed surveillance footage and observed three masked men force entry into a …

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by Zak Failla
Cloverly-Colesville-Fairland, MD
Breaking News
$4M Mega Millions Ticket Sold At Colesville Giant As Prize Goes Unclaimed For Days $4M Mega Millions Ticket Sold At Colesville Giant As Prize Goes Unclaimed For Days $4M Mega Millions Ticket Sold At Colesville Giant As Prize Goes Unclaimed For Days
$4M Mega Millions Ticket Sold At Colesville Giant As Prize Goes Unclaimed For Days Check those tickets. A Mega Millions ticket worth $4 million was sold in Montgomery County for Tuesday night’s drawing — and the winner hasn’t stepped forward yet. The lucky ticket was purchased at the Giant Foods store in Colesville, located at 13490 New Hampshire Avenue in Montgomery County, ahead of the Mega Millions drawing on Tuesday, March 10. The winning numbers for the March 10 drawing were: 16-21-30-35-65, with a Mega Ball of 7. Whoever holds the ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Mega Ball — which normally pays $1 million. But this ticket came with a little ex…

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by Zak Failla
Ashburn, VA
Breaking News
Ashburn Drug Deal Turns Deadly When Man Shot In Back During Parking Lot Meet-Up Ashburn Drug Deal Turns Deadly When Man Shot In Back During Parking Lot Meet-Up Ashburn Drug Deal Turns Deadly When Man Shot In Back During Parking Lot Meet-Up
Ashburn Drug Deal Turns Deadly When Man Shot In Back During Parking Lot Meet-Up A drug deal in a Virginia parking lot turned deadly — and now the man who pulled the trigger will spend the next two decades behind bars. Ashburn resident Rashaun Davonta Owens, 20, was sentenced in Loudoun County Circuit Court in Leesburg to 21 years in prison, after being convicted of the killing of Micahi Dandridge-Carter in 2024, prosecutors announced. The shooting was reported on the night of Feb. 14, 2024, when Owens met Dandridge-Carter in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Ashburn to buy marijuana. Dandridge-Carter sat in the driver’s seat when Owens climbed into the back o…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Drunk Driver With Child In Car Bites Officer After Hit-Run Crash In Woodbridge: Police Drunk Driver With Child In Car Bites Officer After Hit-Run Crash In Woodbridge: Police Drunk Driver With Child In Car Bites Officer After Hit-Run Crash In Woodbridge: Police
Drunk Driver With Child In Car Bites Officer After Hit-Run Crash In Woodbridge: Police A drunk driver who was involved in a hit-and-run with a child in the car doubled down and bit an officer during his arrest in Virginia, police say. Sarah Elizabeth Huff, 36, was spitting mad after a midday DUI and crash in Woodbridge, according to the Prince William County Police Department. At around 3:15 p.m. on Sunday, March 9, officers were called to the intersection of Rippon Boulevard and Blackburn Road to investigate a crash after a driver struck a street sign and left the area. Officers were able to track down Huff's vehicle, and it was determined she was intoxicated with an unrest…

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by Zak Failla
National Interest
Gunman Dead, Two Injured After Active Shooter Situation At Old Dominion University In Virginia Gunman Dead, Two Injured After Active Shooter Situation At Old Dominion University In Virginia Gunman Dead, Two Injured After Active Shooter Situation At Old Dominion University In Virginia
Gunman Dead, Two Injured After Active Shooter Situation At Old Dominion University In Virginia Two people were injured, and a gunman is dead after an active shooter situation at Old Dominion University in Virginia. Shortly before 10:49 a.m. on Thursday, March 12, a gunman in Constant Hall opened fire, leaving two people injured, according to the school. Old Dominion University Police, Norfolk Police, and emergency personnel responded immediately, and the two victims were taken to a local hospital for treatment of undisclosed injuries. Classes have been canceled for the rest of the day as local, state, and federal officials investigate. "Due to an active shooter situation in which t…

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by Zak Failla
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