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

Damascus, MD
Breaking News
Tricky Conditions Cause Chaos As Brush Fire Spreads Into Damascus Home Before Sunrise Tricky Conditions Cause Chaos As Brush Fire Spreads Into Damascus Home Before Sunrise Tricky Conditions Cause Chaos As Brush Fire Spreads Into Damascus Home Before Sunrise
Tricky Conditions Cause Chaos As Brush Fire Spreads Into Damascus Home Before Sunrise Flames burning in a field before sunrise in Maryland didn’t stay there for long. What started as an outside brush fire quickly spread into a home in Damascus early Friday morning, Dec. 12, triggering a large-scale fire response along Mullinix Mill Road. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue crews were dispatched around 4:35 AM to the 26100 block of Mullinix Mill Road after a 911 caller reported a large field fire next to her home, officials said. When firefighters arrived, they found the flames had already pushed into the house, with fire burning in the attic and a bedroom, according to MCFRS …

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by Zak Failla
Silver Spring, MD
Breaking News
Child Critically Injured In Silver Spring Crash That Left One Trapped In Wreckage (DEVELOPING) Child Critically Injured In Silver Spring Crash That Left One Trapped In Wreckage (DEVELOPING) Child Critically Injured In Silver Spring Crash That Left One Trapped In Wreckage (DEVELOPING)
Child Critically Injured In Silver Spring Crash That Left One Trapped In Wreckage (Developing) A quiet stretch of road in Silver Spring turned into a high-stakes rescue Friday morning after a fatal crash left multiple people trapped — including a critically injured child. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service crews were dispatched around 9:20 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 12, to the intersection of Good Hope Drive and Good Hope Road for a severe motor vehicle crash with entrapment, officials said. Fire officials reported that a "pediatric Priority 1 patient" — the most serious classification — was among those injured in the wreck. Another person remained trapped inside a vehicle as rescu…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
You Can’t See Him… But You’ll Feel The Traffic As John Cena’s Final Match Hits DC You Can’t See Him… But You’ll Feel The Traffic As John Cena’s Final Match Hits DC You Can’t See Him… But You’ll Feel The Traffic As John Cena’s Final Match Hits DC
You Can’t See Him… But You’ll Feel The Traffic As John Cena’s Final Match Hits DC Some drivers in DC are going to need to practice their "hustle, loyalty, and respect" when "The Greatest Ever" comes to the nation's capital for his final match. Earlier this year, the WWE announced that John Cena's final stop in his yearlong farewell tour will be as the headliner at "Saturday Night's Main Event" on Dec. 13 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.  Now, that final match is here — and it may tie up traffic in some parts of the city surrounding Capital One Arena.  Cena announced earlier this year that he was hanging up his jorts and wrestling boots at the end of the…

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by Zak Failla
Edgewater-Mayo, MD
Breaking News
Edgewater Woman, 76, Found Dead In Home; Police Say Live-In Boyfriend, 78, Killed Her Edgewater Woman, 76, Found Dead In Home; Police Say Live-In Boyfriend, 78, Killed Her Edgewater Woman, 76, Found Dead In Home; Police Say Live-In Boyfriend, 78, Killed Her
Edgewater Woman, 76, Found Dead In Home; Police Say Live-In Boyfriend, 78, Killed Her A Virginia neighborhood woke up to a chilling scene Thursday morning when police say a 76-year-old woman was found dead inside the home she shared with her longtime boyfriend, who is now charged with her murder. Officers were called around 8 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11, to a residence in the 400 block of Linden Avenue in Edgewater for a report of an unresponsive woman, Anne Arundel County Police said. Upon arrival, officers found Johanna Gibbs suffering from "apparent trauma to her body." She was pronounced dead at the scene by fire personnel.  Detectives from the Homicide Unit immediat…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Fredericksburg Police Searching For Fugitive Accused Of Raping Child Eight Years Ago Fredericksburg Police Searching For Fugitive Accused Of Raping Child Eight Years Ago Fredericksburg Police Searching For Fugitive Accused Of Raping Child Eight Years Ago
Fredericksburg Police Searching For Fugitive Accused Of Raping Child Eight Years Ago Police in Virginia are searching for a man accused of raping a child eight years ago — a case detectives say they were able to corroborate after a woman came forward last week. On Thursday, Dec. 4, a woman reported an alleged sexual assault to the Fredericksburg Police Department that happened when she was 12 years old.  The case was assigned to a detective, who was able to confirm evidence provided by the victim, which identified Fredericksburg resident David Jackson as the likely sexual assault suspect. According to police, Jackson is now wanted on a felony warrant charging him with…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Firefighter Loses Home In Devastating Blaze Days Before Holidays Virginia Firefighter Loses Home In Devastating Blaze Days Before Holidays Virginia Firefighter Loses Home In Devastating Blaze Days Before Holidays
Virginia Firefighter Loses Home In Devastating Blaze Days Before Holidays A Virginia firefighter who has spent years running into burning homes to save strangers watched his own go up in flames this week, leaving him and his three kids with nothing days before the holidays. The fire tore through Doug Dempsey’s home before dawn on Tuesday, Dec. 9, collapsing walls, charring every room, and leaving only a skeletal frame standing in the quiet stretch of woods behind it.  Dempsey got out with the family dogs. His children — Aren, 21, Dana, 18, and Marie, 13 — were away visiting family, loved ones said. A GoFundMe created by a family friend captured the gut punc…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Pedestrian Killed In Pre-Dawn Hit-Run Crash In Woodbridge As Driver Speeds Off, Police Say Pedestrian Killed In Pre-Dawn Hit-Run Crash In Woodbridge As Driver Speeds Off, Police Say Pedestrian Killed In Pre-Dawn Hit-Run Crash In Woodbridge As Driver Speeds Off, Police Say
Pedestrian Killed In Pre-Dawn Hit-Run Crash In Woodbridge As Driver Speeds Off, Police Say A man was struck and killed in a hit-and-run before sunrise in Virginia on Thursday morning, and investigators say the driver never stopped. A 68-year-old man died after being hit by a vehicle that fled the scene in Woodbridge early Thursday, Dec. 11, according to Prince William County Police. Officers were called at 6:09 a.m. to Cardinal Drive and Donald Curtis Drive after several people phoned 911 to report a man lying in the roadway, police said. When officers arrived, they found the victim — identified as Shedrick Eugene Gibson, 68, of no fixed address — unresponsive.  Officers b…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Kidnap Suspect Blows Light, Hits Car, Drives On Rims In Insane Multi-County Pursuit: FCSO Kidnap Suspect Blows Light, Hits Car, Drives On Rims In Insane Multi-County Pursuit: FCSO Kidnap Suspect Blows Light, Hits Car, Drives On Rims In Insane Multi-County Pursuit: FCSO
Kidnap Suspect Blows Light, Hits Car, Drives On Rims In Insane Multi-County Pursuit: Fcso A Maryland kidnapper took deputies on a wild, multi-county chase that pushed police, and his vehicle, to the limit, authorities say. Williamsport resident Suba Washington Jr., 27, was taken into custody after attempting to avoid his arrest by blowing past a traffic light, and through stop sticks before getting boxed in on the highway, according to the Frederick County Sheriff's Office. The long night for law enforcement in northern Maryland began around 12:15 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11, when members of the sheriff's office attempted a traffic stop in the 7300 block of Crestwood Boulevard in …

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by Zak Failla
Elkton, MD
Breaking News
5-Week-Old Found Dead With Trauma; Charlestown Mom Charged With Murder: State Police 5-Week-Old Found Dead With Trauma; Charlestown Mom Charged With Murder: State Police 5-Week-Old Found Dead With Trauma; Charlestown Mom Charged With Murder: State Police
5-Week-Old Found Dead With Trauma; Charlestown Mom Charged With Murder: State Police A Maryland mother whose newborn daughter was found dead with traumatic injuries is facing murder and other charges, according to state police. Destiny Faith Chiveral, 24, was arrested overnight at her Charlestown home in Cecil County and charged in connection with the death of her 5-week-old daughter, authorities announced. Shortly after 9 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4, police and paramedics rushed to a home in the unit block of Leedle Circle in Rising Sun, where they found the newborn suffering from injuries. She was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders. An autopsy was conducted, a…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
‘Transnational’ Cocaine Operation Into Virginia Earns Man Lengthy Prison Term: DOJ ‘Transnational’ Cocaine Operation Into Virginia Earns Man Lengthy Prison Term: DOJ ‘Transnational’ Cocaine Operation Into Virginia Earns Man Lengthy Prison Term: DOJ
‘Transnational’ Cocaine Operation Into Virginia Earns Man Lengthy Prison Term: DOJ A North Carolina man running a coast-to-coast cocaine pipeline into Virginia will spend the next ten years in federal prison. Kareem Akeem McMurrin, 41, was sentenced this week after admitting he conspired to ship 10 kilograms of cocaine from San Diego to Portsmouth, according to federal authorities. Prosecutors didn’t mince their words about the scale of the operation. “McMurrin’s conduct was inherently dangerous and damaging on a transnational scale,” US Attorney Lindsey Halligan said. “He attempted to contribute to the success of a dangerous and larger enterprise.  "This administr…

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by Zak Failla
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