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

Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Frederick Pediatrician Who Sexually Abused Young Patients Learns Prison Fate: ‘Child Predator’ Frederick Pediatrician Who Sexually Abused Young Patients Learns Prison Fate: ‘Child Predator’ Frederick Pediatrician Who Sexually Abused Young Patients Learns Prison Fate: ‘Child Predator’
Frederick Pediatrician Who Sexually Abused Young Patients Learns Prison Fate: ‘Child Predator’ A former Frederick pediatrician who spent decades treating children in Maryland will now spend decades in prison after a jury found he sexually abused a young patient during multiple exams, according to the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office. Ernesto Cesar Torres, 74, of Frederick, was sentenced Monday, Dec. 8, to 30 years with the Division of Corrections after being found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor and multiple counts of third-degree sex offense, prosecutors said. Torres received credit for 2,087 days already served. Prosecutors said Torres faced more than 97 criminal charg…

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by Zak Failla
Leesburg, VA
Breaking News
Drunk Driver Hits Deputy As Three Loudoun County DWIs Stack Up In Hours: Sheriff Drunk Driver Hits Deputy As Three Loudoun County DWIs Stack Up In Hours: Sheriff Drunk Driver Hits Deputy As Three Loudoun County DWIs Stack Up In Hours: Sheriff
Drunk Driver Hits Deputy As Three Loudoun County DWIs Stack Up In Hours: Sheriff Loudoun County deputies had a busy Sunday night after three drivers were arrested for DWI within three hours. The long night included one deputy who was struck by an allegedly intoxicated driver, another who is a repeat offender, and a third who crashed without a license, officials said. Deputies were first called around 9:21 p.m. Dec. 7 to Sully Road and Sterling Boulevard, where they found a single-vehicle crash.  Investigators said the driver, Elmer Ochoa Cabrera, 32, of Mount Crawford, was under the influence. He was arrested and charged with: Driving while intoxicated: second c…

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by Zak Failla
Eldersburg, MD
Breaking News
Eldersburg Chase Ends With Walmart Theft Suspect Busted With Suspected Cocaine, Sheriff Says Eldersburg Chase Ends With Walmart Theft Suspect Busted With Suspected Cocaine, Sheriff Says Eldersburg Chase Ends With Walmart Theft Suspect Busted With Suspected Cocaine, Sheriff Says
Eldersburg Chase Ends With Walmart Theft Suspect Busted With Suspected Cocaine, Sheriff Says A late-night shoplifting call at a Maryland Walmart turned into a brief pursuit and a drug bust after deputies stopped a fleeing minivan loaded with stolen merchandise, according to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to the Walmart Supercenter on Ridge Road in Eldersburg around 10:43 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8, for a shoplifting in progress, officials said. The suspect left in a blue minivan, which deputies spotted heading eastbound on Liberty Road near Ridge Road. When they tried to stop the vehicle, the driver took off at a high rate of speed, the sheriff’s office reported. …

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by Zak Failla
Taneytown-Union Bridge, MD
Breaking News
Teen With 'Impressive' Criminal History Sentenced For Deadly Hit-Run Crash In Carroll County Teen With 'Impressive' Criminal History Sentenced For Deadly Hit-Run Crash In Carroll County Teen With 'Impressive' Criminal History Sentenced For Deadly Hit-Run Crash In Carroll County
Teen With 'Impressive' Criminal History Sentenced For Deadly Hit-Run Crash In Carroll County A Baltimore teen with what the sheriff once called an “impressive criminal history” will spend the next decade behind bars after killing a Carroll County motorcyclist in a stolen SUV, then fleeing the scene and stealing another vehicle to escape, according to prosecutors. Darius Bond, 19, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Monday, Dec. 8, after a judge found him guilty of hit-and-run causing death and theft under $100,000 in the crash that claimed the life of 55-year-old Taneytown resident Terry Crowl, the Carroll County State’s Attorney’s Office announced. Bond was driving a stolen Inf…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
DC Fire Blows Through Top-Floor Apartment, Leaves 10 Residents Displaced Overnight DC Fire Blows Through Top-Floor Apartment, Leaves 10 Residents Displaced Overnight DC Fire Blows Through Top-Floor Apartment, Leaves 10 Residents Displaced Overnight
DC Fire Blows Through Top-Floor Apartment, Leaves 10 Residents Displaced Overnight Ten people were left without a home late Sunday after a fire tore through the top floor of a Northwest DC apartment building, according to DC Fire and EMS. Crews rushed to the 3600 block of New Hampshire Avenue NW at Spring Road around 11:15 p.m. on Dec. 7 for a working fire that had already pushed into the roof, officials said. Firefighters pulled up to see flames shooting from a top-floor apartment and into the roofline.  Crews knocked the fire down quickly, and DC Fire and EMS said no injuries were reported. By early Monday morning, officials confirmed 10 residents were displaced, …

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
‘Cruel Ending’: Jury Convicts Virginia Man In Brutal Burke Lake Murder Of Girlfriend ‘Cruel Ending’: Jury Convicts Virginia Man In Brutal Burke Lake Murder Of Girlfriend ‘Cruel Ending’: Jury Convicts Virginia Man In Brutal Burke Lake Murder Of Girlfriend
‘Cruel Ending’: Jury Convicts Virginia Man In Brutal Burke Lake Murder Of Girlfriend A Fairfax County jury has convicted a man of first-degree murder for stabbing his girlfriend 17 times while the two were camping in Burke Lake Park in 2023, then zipping her body inside a tent and fleeing the state, prosecutors said. The killer, 36-year-old Rami El-Sayed, was also convicted of concealing the body of 40-year-old Cara Abbruscato, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano. Prosecutors said the couple had been camping in a tent on Sept. 24, 2023, and consumed hallucinogenic mushrooms before El-Sayed stabbed Abbruscato 17 times with a knife, including six wounds to her …

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by Zak Failla
Clifton-Fairfax Station, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Yorkie Nearly Dies After Eating ‘Death Cap’ Mushroom On First Morning In New Home Virginia Yorkie Nearly Dies After Eating ‘Death Cap’ Mushroom On First Morning In New Home Virginia Yorkie Nearly Dies After Eating ‘Death Cap’ Mushroom On First Morning In New Home
Virginia Yorkie Nearly Dies After Eating ‘Death Cap’ Mushroom On First Morning In New Home A Virginia family is warning neighbors after their 15-month-old Yorkie nearly died from toxic mushroom poisoning less than 24 hours after they moved into a new apartment, according to a fundraiser created by his owners. Maxie, a 15-month-old Yorkshire terrier, fell violently ill on the morning of Thursday, Dec. 4, at his new home in Virginia after his owners said he began throwing up, suffering diarrhea, refusing food, and becoming too weak to stand.  His bloodwork at an emergency vet showed his GGT liver enzymes were “over 5,000,” when normal levels for dogs range between 10 and 125, …

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
Waldorf Man Shot And Killed By Security Guard During Fight Inside Adult Lounge, Police Say Waldorf Man Shot And Killed By Security Guard During Fight Inside Adult Lounge, Police Say Waldorf Man Shot And Killed By Security Guard During Fight Inside Adult Lounge, Police Say
Waldorf Man Shot And Killed By Security Guard During Fight Inside Adult Lounge, Police Say A late-night fight inside an adult business in Maryland ended in gunfire when a private security guard shot and killed a patron, police said. The victim, identified as 50-year-old Donald Wayne Hunt of Waldorf, was found inside the Ebony Inn in Fairmount Heights on the 5300 block of Sheriff Road around 11:50 p.m. Dec. 8, suffering from gunshot wounds, according to Prince George’s County Police.  He was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders. Detectives said the preliminary investigation suggests Hunt was involved in a fight involving several other patrons. Police said the sec…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Obituaries
Smiling DC Fourth-Grader Who Fought Brain Tumor Dies Just Before Thanksgiving, Family Says Smiling DC Fourth-Grader Who Fought Brain Tumor Dies Just Before Thanksgiving, Family Says Smiling DC Fourth-Grader Who Fought Brain Tumor Dies Just Before Thanksgiving, Family Says
Smiling DC Fourth-Grader Who Fought Brain Tumor Dies Just Before Thanksgiving, Family Says A fourth-grader whose smile carried him through an aggressive brain tumor and years of treatment has died just before the holidays, leaving classmates, teachers, and his community heartbroken. His name was Jhuniel Saldana Vargas — a boy who came to the United States already sick, but still thinking about everyone else. When his family left the Dominican Republic, his mother shared that he was so worried about other kids having less than he did that he made careful plans to give his toys to neighbor children who needed them.  That was who he was — generous even when life was already as…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Obituaries
Virginia Truck Driver Killed In Crash Had One Final Wish — Now Friends Are Trying To Honor It Virginia Truck Driver Killed In Crash Had One Final Wish — Now Friends Are Trying To Honor It Virginia Truck Driver Killed In Crash Had One Final Wish — Now Friends Are Trying To Honor It
Virginia Truck Driver Killed In Crash Had One Final Wish — Now Friends Are Trying To Honor It A Virginia man had one wish: "If anything ever happens to me, I want to be buried in Indonesia." Friends and coworkers across Virginia and beyond are now rallying to help bring a beloved truck driver back to his homeland after he was killed in a tragic crash just days ago. The victim, identified by loved ones as Yunan S., had been living in America for roughly 20 years before the fatal accident. His friend of nearly two decades, Rosidian Novandri, said Yunan had worked as a trailer-truck driver for only about a year when he was killed at the scene of the crash. Novandri described Yunan as …

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by Zak Failla
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