Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

[email protected]

FOLLOW ON

Facebook Twitter Linkedin Instagram

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

Manassas, VA
Breaking News
Man Hurt, Dog Vanishes After Wild Hit-Run Sends Repeat DUI Driver Running In Manassas: Police Man Hurt, Dog Vanishes After Wild Hit-Run Sends Repeat DUI Driver Running In Manassas: Police Man Hurt, Dog Vanishes After Wild Hit-Run Sends Repeat DUI Driver Running In Manassas: Police
Man Hurt, Dog Vanishes After Wild Hit-Run Sends Repeat DUI Driver Running In Manassas: Police A hit-and-run in Virginia ended with a man hurt, a dog vanishing into traffic, and a drunk driver bolting on foot — leaving police searching for both the suspect and the terrified animal he abandoned behind. Manassas native Jose Marvin Martinez — and his possibly injured dog — are missing following a bizarre hit-and-run that played out in Prince William County, according to police. The incident began shortly before 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21, when officers were first called to the area of Ashton Avenue and Crestwood Drive in Manassas. Police say that a 40-year-old man was stopped at a tr…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Gaithersburg, MD
Breaking News
Man Who Died After Mental Health Call In Montgomery County Police Custody Identified Man Who Died After Mental Health Call In Montgomery County Police Custody Identified Man Who Died After Mental Health Call In Montgomery County Police Custody Identified
Man Who Died After Mental Health Call In Montgomery County Police Custody Identified State investigators have identified the man who died days after being taken into police custody during a mental health call in Maryland. The Independent Investigations Division (IID) of the Office of the Attorney General announced on Friday, Jan. 23, that Jamal Thompson, 31, of Silver Spring, was the person who died after being taken into custody by Montgomery County Police on Monday, Dec. 15.  Thompson later died while in custody after suffering a medical crisis. According to the Attorney General’s Office, Thompson was taken into custody during a response to a reported mental health …

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Stafford, VA
Breaking News
Stafford Truck Driver Wanted In Texas Took Missing Pregnant Teen To Rhode Island For Sex: Feds Stafford Truck Driver Wanted In Texas Took Missing Pregnant Teen To Rhode Island For Sex: Feds Stafford Truck Driver Wanted In Texas Took Missing Pregnant Teen To Rhode Island For Sex: Feds
Stafford Truck Driver Wanted In Texas Took Missing Pregnant Teen To Rhode Island For Sex: Feds A Virginia truck driver who knocked up a missing teenage girl will spend nearly two decades in prison, federal authorities announced. David Romero Reyes, 55, of Stafford, has been sentenced in Rhode Island to 17 years in prison for engaging in sexual contact with a minor who traveled with him in his tractor-trailer. According to court documents, in April 2021, Romero Reyes was detained by Naval Station Newport Police during a background check to enter the Navy base to make a delivery. While in custody, it was determined that he was wanted in Texas for felony assault of a child. Prosecutor…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Weather
Crews Race To Repair Massive Sewer Collapse As Snow, Cold Bear Down On Potomac Spill (UPDATED) Crews Race To Repair Massive Sewer Collapse As Snow, Cold Bear Down On Potomac Spill (UPDATED) Crews Race To Repair Massive Sewer Collapse As Snow, Cold Bear Down On Potomac Spill (UPDATED)
Crews Race To Repair Massive Sewer Collapse As Snow, Cold Bear Down On Potomac Spill (Updated) DC Water crews are racing to contain a sanitary sewer overflow spilling into the Potomac River and the historic C&O Canal after a major sewer line collapsed in Maryland earlier this week. Work began Thursday, Jan. 22, to install large bypass pumps along Clara Barton Parkway in Montgomery County, where wastewater has been flowing into the canal and river following damage to a 72-inch sewer pipe known as the Potomac Interceptor. Officials said the pumps, which arrived Thursday, will divert sewage around the damaged section of pipe, allowing crews to begin excavation and repairs. D…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Gaithersburg, MD
Breaking News
School Bus Driver Cited After Probe Into Fatal Crash That Killed 11-Year-Old In Aspen Hill School Bus Driver Cited After Probe Into Fatal Crash That Killed 11-Year-Old In Aspen Hill School Bus Driver Cited After Probe Into Fatal Crash That Killed 11-Year-Old In Aspen Hill
School Bus Driver Cited After Probe Into Fatal Crash That Killed 11-Year-Old In Aspen Hill Investigators have completed their review of a fatal Maryland school bus crash that killed an 11-year-old girl, concluding the child was at fault while also citing the bus driver for negligence. In October 2025, Summer Lim was killed after being struck by a driver who had initially been stopped at a busy intersection in Aspen Hill, prompting a lengthy probe by the Montgomery County Department of Police. Officers and fire crews were dispatched at approximately 3:13 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, to the intersection of Bauer Drive and Russett Road after multiple 911 callers reported a bicycl…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Brandywine, MD
Breaking News
Brandywine Man Who Met Girl At Church, Filmed 26-Minute Rape Video Will Remain Jailed: Feds Brandywine Man Who Met Girl At Church, Filmed 26-Minute Rape Video Will Remain Jailed: Feds Brandywine Man Who Met Girl At Church, Filmed 26-Minute Rape Video Will Remain Jailed: Feds
Brandywine Man Who Met Girl At Church, Filmed 26-Minute Rape Video Will Remain Jailed: Feds A Maryland man who met an eighth-grader at church and later recorded nearly 30 minutes of himself raping her will remain behind bars, officials say. Brandywine resident Daniel Ivan Cruz Ramirez, 28, was ordered detained pending his trial for producing child pornography of a 13-year-old girl, US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced on Thursday. On Tuesday, Jan. 13, Cruz Ramirez was charged by complaint with one count of sexual exploitation of a child for producing a 26-minute video depicting his rape of the girl. During a Jan. 22 detention hearing, a judge ordered that he remain jai…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Cloverly-Colesville-Fairland, MD
Your Community
School Bus With Students Aboard Hit In Colesville, Suspect Flees (DEVELOPING) School Bus With Students Aboard Hit In Colesville, Suspect Flees (DEVELOPING) School Bus With Students Aboard Hit In Colesville, Suspect Flees (DEVELOPING)
School Bus With Students Aboard Hit In Colesville, Suspect Flees (Developing) Police are investigating a hit-and-run crash involving a Maryland school bus that was struck by a vehicle that fled the scene Thursday afternoon. Officers were dispatched at approximately 4:57 p.m. to the intersection of Randolph Road and New Hampshire Avenue in Colesville after reports of a collision involving a Montgomery County Public Schools bus and another vehicle, according to police. Google Maps street view Authorities said the striking vehicle left the scene before officers arrived. Students were on board the school bus at the time of the crash, police confirmed. No injurie…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
College Park, MD
Your Community
ICE Flags MS-13 Gang Members Charged In Brutal Murder Of Missing Maryland Teen In College Park ICE Flags MS-13 Gang Members Charged In Brutal Murder Of Missing Maryland Teen In College Park ICE Flags MS-13 Gang Members Charged In Brutal Murder Of Missing Maryland Teen In College Park
ICE Flags MS-13 Gang Members Charged In Brutal Murder Of Missing Maryland Teen In College Park Federal immigration officials have lodged detainers against MS-13 gang members charged in the brutal murder of a 14-year-old Maryland boy whose remains were found months later in a wooded park. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced on Thursday, Jan. 22, 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, along with a fourth suspect who is 17 years old, in connection with the…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Christmas Eve Argument Explodes Into Fire With Mother Trapped Inside Maryland Home Christmas Eve Argument Explodes Into Fire With Mother Trapped Inside Maryland Home Christmas Eve Argument Explodes Into Fire With Mother Trapped Inside Maryland Home
Christmas Eve Argument Explodes Into Fire With Mother Trapped Inside Maryland Home While most Maryland homes were setting out cookies on Christmas Eve, one was filling with smoke during a family fight, investigators say. Already wanted in Pennsylvania, 32-year-old Matthew Haigis is now facing serious charges in Maryland after a holiday argument with his mother rapidly escalated and ended with him attempting to set her home ablaze, according to the State Fire Marshal. Shortly before 5 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2025, members of the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office were called to a home in the 4800 block of Skinners Run Road, where there were reports of a domestic incident involvin…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Breaking News
Police Probe Double Fatal Shooting Inside Anne Arundel County Home (DEVELOPING) Police Probe Double Fatal Shooting Inside Anne Arundel County Home (DEVELOPING) Police Probe Double Fatal Shooting Inside Anne Arundel County Home (DEVELOPING)
Police Probe Double Fatal Shooting Inside Anne Arundel County Home (Developing) Police are investigating a deadly shooting inside a Maryland home after two adults were found dead from gunshot wounds, authorities said. Officers responding to an unattended death investigation discovered the victims inside a residence around 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22, in the 100 block of Harwood Road in Harwood, according to Anne Arundel County Police. Police later confirmed that both victims were adults who died as a result of gunshot wounds and that a firearm was located inside the home. Investigators emphasized that the incident appears to be contained and does not pose a threat …

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Prev Page 350 of 3978 348 349 350 351 352 Next
3,491 - 3,500 of 39,776 articles