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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
Leesburg Driver Accused Of Hit-Run That Left Pedestrian Injured Arrested Months Later: Police Leesburg Driver Accused Of Hit-Run That Left Pedestrian Injured Arrested Months Later: Police
Leesburg Driver Accused Of Hit-Run That Left Pedestrian Injured Arrested Months Later: Police A Virginia man has been arrested months after police say he struck a pedestrian who had pulled over because his vehicle was smoking, then fled the scene, leaving investigators to piece together the case with surveillance footage and public tips. The crash happened just before midnight on Sunday, Feb. 8, along southbound Battlefield Parkway SE near Sycolin Road in Leesburg. According to the Leesburg Police Department, the victim had stopped his vehicle after noticing smoke coming from it and was outside when he was struck by a passing driver shortly before midnight. Police said the driver c…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
'You Have A Bug On Your Back': Woodbridge Woman Groped In Parking Lot Ruse, Police Say 'You Have A Bug On Your Back': Woodbridge Woman Groped In Parking Lot Ruse, Police Say
'You Have A Bug On Your Back': Woodbridge Woman Groped In Parking Lot Ruse, Police Say A simple question turned into something far more disturbing in Virginia. A woman was sexually assaulted after a stranger claimed she had an insect on her back, using the distraction to touch her inappropriately in a Woodbridge parking lot, according to the  Prince William County Police Department. The incident happened around 3:50 p.m. on Friday, June 26, in the 14900 block of Richmond Highway in Prince William County. According to investigators, the 38-year-old woman was walking to her car when an unknown man approached her and told her she had an insect on her back. The man then as…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Fire Tears Through Fairfax County Home As Crews Work To Knock Down Flames: Officials Fire Tears Through Fairfax County Home As Crews Work To Knock Down Flames: Officials
Fire Tears Through Fairfax County Home As Crews Work To Knock Down Flames: Officials It wasn't just a house. It was more than a home. A Virginia family escaped an overnight fire alive, but the flames left them without their Fairfax County home and destroyed the home daycare business that Shawnda Metivier spent years building inside it. The fire broke out just after 1:15 a.m. on Sunday, June 28, in the 8900 block of Jandell Road in Lorton. As Daily Voice previously reported, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue crews arrived to find heavy fire showing from the single-family home before launching an aggressive attack that quickly brought the flames under control. No one was …

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by Zak Failla
News
College Park Man Ordered To Repay $13M In Massive Money Laundering Conspiracy: Feds College Park Man Ordered To Repay $13M In Massive Money Laundering Conspiracy: Feds
College Park Man Ordered To Repay $13M In Massive Money Laundering Conspiracy: Feds Millions vanished. Now the man prosecutors say helped move the money is headed to federal prison. A Maryland man who admitted helping oversee an $11 million money laundering conspiracy tied to business email scams and COVID-19 fraud has been sentenced to more than nine years behind bars. Yahya Sowe, 42, of College Park, was sentenced to 114 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to participating in a large, multi-member money laundering conspiracy, according to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland and Homeland Security Investigations. Federal prosecutors said Sowe …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Family Reveals Extent Of Maryland Officer's Injuries After Pikesville Trail Shooting Family Reveals Extent Of Maryland Officer's Injuries After Pikesville Trail Shooting
Family Reveals Extent Of Maryland Officer's Injuries After Pikesville Trail Shooting Sometimes, surviving is only the beginning. A Maryland police officer who was shot while chasing an armed suspect along a Baltimore County trail earlier this month is now battling a spinal cord injury as he begins what his family says will be a long and difficult recovery. Officer Paul Catalfamo, 22, of the Baltimore County Police Department, was critically wounded on Sunday, June 7, while responding to an indecent exposure call along the Milford Mill Gwynn Falls Trail in Pikesville. Until now, officials had released few details about the extent of his injuries. According to a fundraiser …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Bealeton Woman Flees Crash, Gets Busted Moments Later Texting While Driving, Sheriff Says Bealeton Woman Flees Crash, Gets Busted Moments Later Texting While Driving, Sheriff Says
Bealeton Woman Flees Crash, Gets Busted Moments Later Texting While Driving, Sheriff Says Sometimes, they make it easy. A Virginia woman accused of fleeing a rear-end crash was caught moments later after a deputy spotted her allegedly texting behind the wheel, leading to a DUI arrest, authorities said. Shortly after 8 p.m. on Friday night, deputies from the Stafford County Sheriff's Office responded to a hit-and-run reported on Warrenton Road after a woman rear-ended a driver and fled the area. Bealeton resident Kristina Cole did not get far. Shortly after the crash, investigators say that a deputy spotted Cole texting and driving, leading to a traffic stop. According to offi…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
Clock Ticking On Public Comments For Controversial Maryland ICE Detention Center Clock Ticking On Public Comments For Controversial Maryland ICE Detention Center
Clock Ticking On Public Comments For Controversial Maryland ICE Detention Center Time is running out for Maryland residents hoping to weigh in on a proposed 1,500-bed ICE detention center that has sparked months of controversy in Washington County. The federal public comment period on the Department of Homeland Security's plan to convert an 825,000-square-foot warehouse near Williamsport into an immigration detention center closes at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30. Ahead of the deadline, Hagerstown Rapid Response and Washington County Indivisible say their campaign has generated more than 3,000 public comments opposing the project, which organizers believe represents on…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
16-Year-Old Gunned Down At Langley Park Community Center In Broad Daylight: Police 16-Year-Old Gunned Down At Langley Park Community Center In Broad Daylight: Police
16-Year-Old Gunned Down At Langley Park Community Center In Broad Daylight: Police A 16-year-old was gunned down at a popular community hotspot in Maryland in the middle of the day, police say. Silver Spring native Angel Guzman has been identified by the Prince George's County Police Department as the person who was shot and killed at the Langley Park Community Center on Friday afternoon. At around 1:30 p.m. on June 26, officers were called to investigate reports of shots fired in the 1500 block of Merrimac Drive. Upon arrival, they found Guzman suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators say they do not believe it was a ra…

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by Zak Failla
Traffic
WATCH: Human Chain Saves Driver From Sinking Car In Fairfax County Pond WATCH: Human Chain Saves Driver From Sinking Car In Fairfax County Pond
Watch: Human Chain Saves Driver From Sinking Car In Fairfax County Pond Sometimes, it takes a village. First responders in Northern Virginia formed a human chain to rescue a driver who crash-landed into a pond in Fairfax County, officials say. Late on Sunday afternoon, members of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue and Police departments worked together on a bold rescue mission as a car slowly descended into the pond. The scene of the crash in Fairfax County. Fairfax County Police "It's going down, it's going down," they could be heard shouting as the car slowly sank deeper into the water. Bodycam footage of the rescue can be viewed here. Driver re…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
'Bang' Heard Before Lithium-Ion Battery Sparks Cecil County Shed Inferno, Fire Marshal Says 'Bang' Heard Before Lithium-Ion Battery Sparks Cecil County Shed Inferno, Fire Marshal Says
'Bang' Heard Before Lithium-Ion Battery Sparks Cecil County Shed Inferno, Fire Marshal Says It started with a bang. A Maryland homeowner says a lithium-ion battery charging inside a shed exploded before flames tore through the structure and spread to a nearby RV and boat in Cecil County. The fire broke out shortly after 7:45 p.m. on Saturday, June 27, at a property in the 500 block of Conowingo Road in Conowingo, according to the Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal. Investigators say the owner had placed a lithium-ion battery for a power tool on its charger.  Within about 10 minutes, he heard a loud "bang." When he went to investigate, the owner found flames burning …

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by Zak Failla
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