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
Rabies Scare In Virginia: Two People Bitten By Aggressive Raccoon Near Old Town Alexandria Rabies Scare In Virginia: Two People Bitten By Aggressive Raccoon Near Old Town Alexandria Rabies Scare In Virginia: Two People Bitten By Aggressive Raccoon Near Old Town Alexandria
Rabies Scare In Virginia: Two People Bitten By Aggressive Raccoon Near Old Town Alexandria A raccoon believed to be rabid bit two people in Virginia, sparking a health warning after the attacks were reported near Old Town Alexandria, officials said. The bites were reported on Tuesday, March 3, when two people contacted animal control after encounters with a raccoon near North Henry Street, North Patrick Street, and Cameron Street, according to the Alexandria Health Department. Officials said they do not know if the same animal was responsible, but the incidents happened close together in time and location. “Due to the aggressive behavior, AHD believes the racoon(s) may have had …

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Machine Gun-Modified Handgun, Drugs Found During Frederick Traffic Stops; Four Arrested: Police Machine Gun-Modified Handgun, Drugs Found During Frederick Traffic Stops; Four Arrested: Police Machine Gun-Modified Handgun, Drugs Found During Frederick Traffic Stops; Four Arrested: Police
Machine Gun-Modified Handgun, Drugs Found During Frederick Traffic Stops; Four Arrested: Police A pair of overnight traffic stops in Maryland ended with four arrests and multiple loaded guns — including one modified to fire like a machine gun — being seized by deputies in Frederick County. The arrests happened around 3:25 a.m. on Sunday, March 1, when deputies with the sheriff's office conducted two separate traffic stops near Ballenger Creek Pike and Ballenger Center Drive in Frederick, according to the agency. During the first stop, deputies identified a passenger as Keymoni Javon Disney, 18, of Windsor Mill. Investigators say deputies found a loaded handgun tucked in Disney’s wais…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
DUI Suspect Sparks Chase, Fence-Smashing Crash, Foot Pursuit In Virginia: Police DUI Suspect Sparks Chase, Fence-Smashing Crash, Foot Pursuit In Virginia: Police DUI Suspect Sparks Chase, Fence-Smashing Crash, Foot Pursuit In Virginia: Police
DUI Suspect Sparks Chase, Fence-Smashing Crash, Foot Pursuit In Virginia: Police A routine traffic stop in Virginia quickly spiraled into a police chase, a smashed residential fence, and a foot pursuit through a Culpeper neighborhood after a driver suspected of being drunk tried to make a run for it. The chaos began around the 400 block of James Madison Highway on Monday, March 2, when Officer G. Hutchinson with the Culpeper Police Department attempted to stop a vehicle for suspected drunk driving and driving without tail lights. The driver — later identified as Michael Jolliffe of Culpeper — initially pulled over. His vehicle came to a stop in the Dominion Square park…

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by Zak Failla
Woodlawn, MD
Breaking News
Graphic Bodycam Shows Welfare Check Altercation That Left Owings Mills Man Dead (VIDEO) Graphic Bodycam Shows Welfare Check Altercation That Left Owings Mills Man Dead (VIDEO) Graphic Bodycam Shows Welfare Check Altercation That Left Owings Mills Man Dead (VIDEO)
Graphic Bodycam Shows Welfare Check Altercation That Left Owings Mills Man Dead (Video) New bodycam footage released by the Maryland Attorney General's Office shows the moments leading up to the police altercation that led to the death of a 56-year-old man in Baltimore. The AG's Internal Investigations Division launched a probe into an incident that left Owings Mills resident Samuel Brown with a bloody head wound that later proved fatal. An officer with the Baltimore County Police Department responded at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Feb. 16 to check on the welfare of a man sitting at a traffic light for an extended period in the area of Security Boulevard and Whitehead Court, of…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
20-Month-Old Dies From Severe Trauma In Virginia, Mom’s Boyfriend Charged With Murder: Police 20-Month-Old Dies From Severe Trauma In Virginia, Mom’s Boyfriend Charged With Murder: Police 20-Month-Old Dies From Severe Trauma In Virginia, Mom’s Boyfriend Charged With Murder: Police
20-Month-Old Dies From Severe Trauma In Virginia, Mom’s Boyfriend Charged With Murder: Police A Virginia man is facing a murder charge after police say he was linked to the killing of his girlfriend's 20-month-old child. Prince George resident Tyler William Skinner, 31, was arrested in the 100 block of Blue Jay Street this week following a police investigation into the death of the toddler on Monday morning. Shortly after 8:15 a.m. on March 2, Prince George Police and Prince George Fire and EMS personnel responded to a report of a non-responsive child. When first responders arrived, they found the 20-month-old boy suffering from what was described as "severe trauma." Life-saving m…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Obituaries
Maryland Teen Athlete, Junior Firefighter Liam Madison, 16, Remembered For Kindness, Smile Maryland Teen Athlete, Junior Firefighter Liam Madison, 16, Remembered For Kindness, Smile Maryland Teen Athlete, Junior Firefighter Liam Madison, 16, Remembered For Kindness, Smile
Maryland Teen Athlete, Junior Firefighter Liam Madison, 16, Remembered For Kindness, Smile A tight-knit Maryland community is grieving the loss of a teenager whose energy, kindness, and larger-than-life smile left a lasting mark on teammates, firefighters, classmates, and friends across the Eastern Shore. Liam James Madison, a 16-year-old student-athlete from Centreville, died on Thursday, Feb. 27, leaving behind a family, school, and hockey community struggling to come to terms with the loss of a young man who seemed to be everywhere at once. Born at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Madison moved to Centreville with his family in 2009 and quickly grew into a familiar fa…

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by Zak Failla
Capitol Heights-District Heights, MD
Breaking News
Deadly Dispute: Teen Faces Life After Triple Shooting Leaves 19-Year-Old Dead In PG County Deadly Dispute: Teen Faces Life After Triple Shooting Leaves 19-Year-Old Dead In PG County Deadly Dispute: Teen Faces Life After Triple Shooting Leaves 19-Year-Old Dead In PG County
Deadly Dispute: Teen Faces Life After Triple Shooting Leaves 19-Year-Old Dead In PG County A teenager may spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted of a deadly triple shooting in District Heights that left a 19-year-old dead and two others injured, prosecutors announced on Wednesday. Michael Zion Jones, 19, of Brandywine; Jacorey White, 19, of Capitol Heights; a 16-year-old male from Hyattsville; and a 17-year-old male from Fort Washington have all been charged in connection with the June 2024 murder of 19-year-old Upper Marlboro resident Anthony Ward III.  Both juveniles were charged as adults, police said. On March 4, the Prince George's County State's …

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by Zak Failla
Wheaton-Glenmont, MD
Breaking News
Man Caught Soliciting 16-Year-Old Boy At Wheaton Mall Arrested After Argument: Police Man Caught Soliciting 16-Year-Old Boy At Wheaton Mall Arrested After Argument: Police Man Caught Soliciting 16-Year-Old Boy At Wheaton Mall Arrested After Argument: Police
Man Caught Soliciting 16-Year-Old Boy At Wheaton Mall Arrested After Argument: Police A 58-year-old man who solicited a teen boy at a Maryland mall was arrested on Tuesday after requesting sexual acts from the 16-year-old, police say. Now, the Montgomery County Department of Police is concerned there may be additional victims who have not come forward. Capitol Heights resident Miguel Angel Torres-Manzanerez was arrested at the Wheaton Mall and charged with sexual solicitation of a minor after being caught red-handed with the teen on Tuesday, March 3. At approximately 12:50 p.m., 4th District officers were touring the mall’s security command center when they noticed sus…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
On Your Side
Virginia Store’s SNAP Sales Exploded From $2.6K To $65K A Month — Feds Say It Was All Fraud Virginia Store’s SNAP Sales Exploded From $2.6K To $65K A Month — Feds Say It Was All Fraud Virginia Store’s SNAP Sales Exploded From $2.6K To $65K A Month — Feds Say It Was All Fraud
Virginia Store’s SNAP Sales Exploded From $2.6K To $65K A Month — Feds Say It Was All Fraud A grocery store in Virginia that once rang up just a few thousand dollars in food stamp purchases each month suddenly started processing tens of thousands, drawing the attention of authorities. Federal investigators say the reason wasn’t more customers. It was fraud. Rajan Babbar, 59, the owner of Taste of India in Lynchburg, admitted in federal court on Tuesday, March 3, that he ran a scheme allowing customers to trade food stamp benefits for cash. Babbar pleaded guilty to fraud involving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and transacting in criminally derived property,…

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by Zak Failla
College Park, MD
Your Community
Three Men, Teen Tied To MS-13 Indicted After Missing 14-Year-Old Found Dead In College Park Three Men, Teen Tied To MS-13 Indicted After Missing 14-Year-Old Found Dead In College Park Three Men, Teen Tied To MS-13 Indicted After Missing 14-Year-Old Found Dead In College Park
Three Men, Teen Tied To MS-13 Indicted After Missing 14-Year-Old Found Dead In College Park A Washington, DC teen who vanished last summer was found dead months later in Maryland. Now, three men and a teen with ties to MS-13 have been formally indicted after dumping his body in a College Park park, according to the Prince George's County State's Attorney's Office. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced in January that detainers were placed on Alam Josai Garcia Padilla, Jose Vladimir Merlos-Majano, and William Ariel Cuellar Gutierrez, all charged in the killing of Jefferson Amaya-Ayala, 14, of College Park. Prince George’s County Police previously charged the three men, …

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by Zak Failla
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