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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

Police & Fire
Wanted Man Shows Up At Victim's Hospital, Sparks I-95 Pursuit Through Northern Virginia: Police Wanted Man Shows Up At Victim's Hospital, Sparks I-95 Pursuit Through Northern Virginia: Police
Wanted Man Shows Up At Victim's Hospital, Sparks I-95 Pursuit Through Northern Virginia: Police A wild domestic dispute in Northern Virginia spiraled into an abduction and police pursuit down I-95 after a 34-year-old man assaulted and robbed a family member, officials say. Tariq Kamal Rasheed, 34, is facing a host of charges following a strange series of events that started in Woodbridge and ended with a canceled chase in Springfield, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Shortly before 10 p.m. on Monday, June 15, officers were called to investigate a domestic disturbance in the 14900 block of Feeder Lane in Woodbridge involving a woman who was assaulted, abducted,…

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by Zak Failla
News
Missing Virginia Baby Giraffes Found Safe After Mystery That Sent Zoo Manager To Jail Missing Virginia Baby Giraffes Found Safe After Mystery That Sent Zoo Manager To Jail
Missing Virginia Baby Giraffes Found Safe After Mystery That Sent Zoo Manager To Jail The baby giraffes are safe. More than a year after two giraffe calves mysteriously disappeared from Virginia's controversial Natural Bridge Zoo, which touched off a statewide search, inspired a new law, and helped send a zoo manager to jail, officials say the animals have finally been found. The calves are now receiving specialized care at a professional facility, according to Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones' office. For anyone who lost track of this bizarre saga, yes, we're talking about the same missing giraffes. The ones nobody could seem to find. The ones at the center of a court…

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by Zak Failla
News
MISSING: 13-Year-Old Maryland Girl Vanishes After Leaving For School, Sheriff Says MISSING: 13-Year-Old Maryland Girl Vanishes After Leaving For School, Sheriff Says
Missing: 13-Year-Old Maryland Girl Vanishes After Leaving For School, Sheriff Says A 13-year-old girl walked out the door for school in Maryland on Wednesday morning and never came home. Now, the Harford County Sheriff's Office is asking the public for help finding Celine Blizzard, who has been missing since approximately 7:20 a.m. on Wednesday, June 10. Investigators say Blizzard was last seen leaving for school in Edgewood and has not returned. The teenager is considered a runaway, according to the sheriff's office, but her whereabouts remain unknown. She was last seen wearing a short-sleeve white T-shirt and black shorts with white stripes. As the search continue…

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by Zak Failla
News
Of All The Cars To Pull Over, This Police Impersonator Picked A Real Cop: Officials Of All The Cars To Pull Over, This Police Impersonator Picked A Real Cop: Officials
Of All The Cars To Pull Over, This Police Impersonator Picked A Real Cop: Officials Melvin Andrew Pinkney Jr. picked the wrong person on the wrong night. The 42-year-old California resident is facing charges for impersonating a police officer after attempting to conduct a traffic stop on a Montgomery County Police officer. Truth is stranger than fiction. Pinkney's bad night started around 12:15 a.m. on Monday, June 15, when an officer assigned to the 2nd District Special Assignment Team was driving an unmarked police cruiser during a detail in Silver Spring. Enter: Pinkney. Pinkney, who was driving a Ford Taurus, approached the officer’s cruiser from the rear, acti…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
E-Scooter Rider Dies After Being Hit By Driver Traveling Same Direction: Police E-Scooter Rider Dies After Being Hit By Driver Traveling Same Direction: Police
E-Scooter Rider Dies After Being Hit By Driver Traveling Same Direction: Police Police have identified the 43-year-old man who died after being struck while riding an e-scooter in Maryland. Scott Tippett was struck and killed late Monday night by a driver who shared his lane, according to the Prince George's County Police Department. At around 10:25 p.m. on June 15, officers were called to the 8100 block of Old Branch Avenue in Clinton, where there was a reported crash involving a car and an electric scooter. Investigators say that Tippett and the driver were traveling in the same direction along the roadway when, "for reasons under investigation," the driver struck t…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Teen Shot In Virginia Mobile Home Community Found Dead In Nearby Backyard: Police Teen Shot In Virginia Mobile Home Community Found Dead In Nearby Backyard: Police
Teen Shot In Virginia Mobile Home Community Found Dead In Nearby Backyard: Police A shooting inside a Northern Virginia mobile home community ended with an 18-year-old Manassas man dead in a backyard blocks away, according to Prince William County Police. Luis Angel Chavez was shot shortly before 10 p.m. on Monday, June 15, inside the Bull Run Mobile Home Community, investigators said. Police believe Chavez was near Peppertree Lane and Pebble Lane when gunfire broke out. What happened next remains under investigation. After being shot in the upper body, Chavez managed to leave the area before collapsing behind a home on Parrish Lane, where he was later found dead, poli…

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by Zak Failla
News
Search For Missing Student Nazir Bell Continues In Potomac River Near Great Falls Search For Missing Student Nazir Bell Continues In Potomac River Near Great Falls
Search For Missing Student Nazir Bell Continues In Potomac River Near Great Falls The search for Nazir Bell isn't over. Crews returned to the Potomac River near Great Falls on Tuesday, June 16, launching boats back into the water as the effort to find the missing 20-year-old entered a third day. Bell was publicly identified on Tuesday by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Pete Piringer, who said crews would continue searching the river near Great Falls and Old Anglers Inn after the young swimmer disappeared over the weekend. According to MCFRS, Bell was last seen Sunday evening, June 14, in the Potomac River near Billy Goat Trail A, across from Sandy…

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by Zak Failla
News
Maryland Church Ignored Warnings About Youth Pastor, Lawsuit Says Maryland Church Ignored Warnings About Youth Pastor, Lawsuit Says
Maryland Church Ignored Warnings About Youth Pastor, Lawsuit Says Days after a former Baltimore County youth pastor admitted to sexually abusing a child, a new lawsuit alleges church leaders were warned about his behavior years earlier and failed to stop him. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, June 16, by Andreozzi + Foote, accuses Central Christian Church in Rossville of ignoring reports about Thomas G. Pinkerton Jr.'s conduct while he allegedly groomed and sexually abused a teenage boy over a four-year period. Pinkerton pleaded guilty on June 8 in Baltimore County Circuit Court to one count of sexual abuse of a minor and is awaiting sentencing in December. …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Suspect Dead After Officer-Involved Shooting In Northwest DC Impacts Traffic: MPD (UPDATED) Suspect Dead After Officer-Involved Shooting In Northwest DC Impacts Traffic: MPD (UPDATED)
Suspect Dead After Officer-Involved Shooting In Northwest DC Impacts Traffic: MPD (Updated) A suspect is dead after an officer-involved shooting sparked a major police investigation on Wisconsin Avenue in Northwest DC Tuesday morning, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Police first alerted the public to a shooting investigation near Wisconsin Avenue and Upton Street NW, warning residents and commuters to avoid the area. About 30 minutes later, MPD confirmed the incident involved an officer and announced that one suspect had been pronounced dead. Few details were immediately released. Authorities have not said what led to the shooting, whether the suspect was armed,…

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by Zak Failla
Business
Just When It Looked Like The Credits Were Rolling, Maryland's IPIC Gets A Sequel Just When It Looked Like The Credits Were Rolling, Maryland's IPIC Gets A Sequel
Just When It Looked Like The Credits Were Rolling, Maryland's Ipic Gets A Sequel Good news for anyone whose idea of a perfect night out involves a movie, a cocktail, and a recliner that feels suspiciously close to a bed. IPIC at Pike & Rose in Maryland isn't going anywhere. Four months after IPIC's parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a new owner says the North Bethesda theater will continue operating under the luxury cinema brand that has become a staple at the popular Montgomery County development. CMX Cinemas announced Monday, June 15, that it has acquired select IPIC assets and locations across the country, including IPIC North Bethesda an…

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by Zak Failla
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