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

Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
Man Grabs Sawed-Off Shotgun During Waldorf Fight While Detectives Watched, Sheriff Says Man Grabs Sawed-Off Shotgun During Waldorf Fight While Detectives Watched, Sheriff Says Man Grabs Sawed-Off Shotgun During Waldorf Fight While Detectives Watched, Sheriff Says
Man Grabs Sawed-Off Shotgun During Waldorf Fight While Detectives Watched, Sheriff Says The argument was over in seconds. Then a man came back with a loaded sawed-off shotgun. Maryland detectives conducting an unrelated investigation in Waldorf early on Friday, July 31, watched the confrontation escalate before stepping in as the armed suspect allegedly pointed the shotgun at a woman near the 3000 block of Gallery Place, according to the Charles County Sheriff's Office. Investigators said Perrie Stephon Wilson, 40, of Waldorf, walked into an apartment building during the dispute, returned carrying the shotgun, and raised it toward the woman as she stood beside a passenger vehi…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Your Community
Dog's Discovery Leads To Rabies Alert After Bat Tests Positive In Virginia: VDH Dog's Discovery Leads To Rabies Alert After Bat Tests Positive In Virginia: VDH Dog's Discovery Leads To Rabies Alert After Bat Tests Positive In Virginia: VDH
Dog's Discovery Leads To Rabies Alert After Bat Tests Positive In Virginia: VDH A dog's discovery has prompted a rabies warning in Virginia after a bat found in Suffolk tested positive for the deadly virus. The bat was found in the 300 block of Turlington Road in Suffolk and collected after a dog located the dead animal, according to the Suffolk Health Department on Tuesday, Aug. 4.  Animal Control responded, recovered the bat, and testing later confirmed it was infected with rabies. While human rabies cases are rare, the virus is almost always fatal once symptoms develop. Health officials say the disease spreads when saliva from an infected animal enters the bod…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
13-Year-Old Arrested After Shooting Teen Relative During Woodbridge Family Fight: Police 13-Year-Old Arrested After Shooting Teen Relative During Woodbridge Family Fight: Police 13-Year-Old Arrested After Shooting Teen Relative During Woodbridge Family Fight: Police
13-Year-Old Arrested After Shooting Teen Relative During Woodbridge Family Fight: Police A family argument ended with a gunshot. Prince William County police say a 13-year-old Woodbridge boy is now facing felony charges after he allegedly shot his 18-year-old female relative during a domestic dispute inside a home on Lebourget Court late on Sunday night. Officers were called to the 15500 block of Lebourget Court around 10:36 p.m. on Aug. 2, where detectives say a verbal argument between the two family members escalated inside the home. According to investigators, the boy went into the home, retrieved a firearm, confronted the woman, and fired a single round. The bullet grazed…

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
WMATA Train Operator Forged Doctors' Names, Recruited Coworkers: Feds WMATA Train Operator Forged Doctors' Names, Recruited Coworkers: Feds WMATA Train Operator Forged Doctors' Names, Recruited Coworkers: Feds
Wmata Train Operator Forged Doctors' Names, Recruited Coworkers: Feds It wasn't just one fake claim. Federal prosecutors say a WMATA train operator built a years-long insurance fraud scheme by recruiting coworkers, forging doctors' names and cashing in on injuries that never happened. Michelle Shropshire, 55, of Waldorf, was sentenced Tuesday, Aug. 4, to 24 months in federal prison after orchestrating a four-year plot that defrauded AFLAC of more than $362,000, according to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. Prosecutors say Shropshire, who worked as a train operator for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, recruited fellow …

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Your Community
Virginia Confirms First Locally Acquired Dengue Case As Mosquito Spreads Virus Virginia Confirms First Locally Acquired Dengue Case As Mosquito Spreads Virus Virginia Confirms First Locally Acquired Dengue Case As Mosquito Spreads Virus
Virginia Confirms First Locally Acquired Dengue Case As Mosquito Spreads Virus A mosquito bite in Northern Virginia has health officials watching closely. Virginia has confirmed its first documented case of locally acquired dengue virus, marking a milestone state health officials say is rare but important, even as they stress the overall risk to the public remains low. The Virginia Department of Health announced that a Northern Virginia resident contracted dengue despite having no known travel outside Virginia before becoming sick. The investigation, conducted with the Fairfax County and Loudoun County health departments, found the patient had been in close proximity…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Your Community
Who Was The Man Found Dead, Decomposing Behind A Prince William Business In 2002? Who Was The Man Found Dead, Decomposing Behind A Prince William Business In 2002? Who Was The Man Found Dead, Decomposing Behind A Prince William Business In 2002?
Who Was The Man Found Dead, Decomposing Behind A Prince William Business In 2002? He walked into the woods carrying little more than the clothes on his back. More than two decades later, no one has figured out who he was. Prince William County detectives are asking the public to take another look at one of the area's oldest unsolved mysteries, hoping someone recognizes the face, the clothing, or even the small everyday items found alongside an unidentified man whose remains were discovered on July 29, 2002, behind a commercial business in the 8100 block of Sudley Road in Manassas. The case has remained frozen in time for 23 years. Investigators said the decomposed rema…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
WATCH: Massive 2-Alarm Fire Tears Through DC Apartments, Leaving 44 Without Homes WATCH: Massive 2-Alarm Fire Tears Through DC Apartments, Leaving 44 Without Homes WATCH: Massive 2-Alarm Fire Tears Through DC Apartments, Leaving 44 Without Homes
Watch: Massive 2-Alarm Fire Tears Through DC Apartments, Leaving 44 Without Homes A wall of flames. Thick black smoke. Then an all-out fight to keep an entire apartment building from going up. More than 150 firefighters battled a massive two-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon in Southeast DC after fire tore through the roof of an occupied apartment building, forcing dozens of residents, including 16 children, from their homes. The fire broke out around 2:18 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, at an apartment building in the 5300 block of E Street SE, where crews quickly found flames racing through the upper floors and roof. Update: 2 Alarm Fire 5300 Block of E Street SE2nd alarm was ca…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Obituaries
'You Always Had A Smile': Loved Ones Remember Jesse Fultz Sr. After Maryland Motorcycle Crash 'You Always Had A Smile': Loved Ones Remember Jesse Fultz Sr. After Maryland Motorcycle Crash 'You Always Had A Smile': Loved Ones Remember Jesse Fultz Sr. After Maryland Motorcycle Crash
'You Always Had A Smile': Loved Ones Remember Jesse Fultz Sr. After Maryland Motorcycle Crash The streets will glow with candlelight this week, but they won't be able to fill the space Jesse Fultz Sr. leaves behind. Maryland is mourning the sudden loss of the devoted husband, father, brother and friend after the Jefferson family man was killed in a motorcycle crash, leaving behind his wife, Becky, and their two young sons, Junior and Tucker. As loved ones struggle to process the tragedy, one message has echoed across social media again and again: Jesse made people feel like family. "To have you stripped away from us within the blink of an eye hurts different because we all thought …

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by Zak Failla
Elkton, MD
Your Community
'Mr. Money Bags' Wins $1M Maryland Lottery Prize On Last Ticket In Machine 'Mr. Money Bags' Wins $1M Maryland Lottery Prize On Last Ticket In Machine 'Mr. Money Bags' Wins $1M Maryland Lottery Prize On Last Ticket In Machine
'Mr. Money Bags' Wins $1M Maryland Lottery Prize On Last Ticket In Machine Talk about leaving nothing behind. A Maryland mechanic became an instant millionaire after buying the very last scratch-off ticket left in a vending machine, turning a split-second decision into a $1 million payday. The Cecil County man, who now jokingly goes by "Mr. Money Bags," wasn't even planning to buy that particular ticket. He had just picked up his children from the babysitter and stopped at the Royal Farms on Perryville Road in Perryville when something caught his eye. The customer in front of him had been loading up on Triple Red 777s scratch-offs. By the time it was his turn, …

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
140 Guns Hidden In Air Compressors: Ex-Haitian Police Officer Pleads Guilty In DC 140 Guns Hidden In Air Compressors: Ex-Haitian Police Officer Pleads Guilty In DC 140 Guns Hidden In Air Compressors: Ex-Haitian Police Officer Pleads Guilty In DC
140 Guns Hidden In Air Compressors: Ex-Haitian Police Officer Pleads Guilty In DC They weren't shipping air compressors. They were shipping an arsenal. A years-long gun trafficking scheme unraveled in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, when a former Haitian National Police officer admitted smuggling at least 140 firearms from South Florida to Haiti by hiding them inside industrial air compressors packed with foam insulation, federal prosecutors announced. Jean Robert Casimir, 53, of Lauderhill, FL, pleaded guilty in US District Court in DC to conspiracy, smuggling, and violating US export control laws for orchestrating the operation, according to the US Attorney's Offic…

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by Zak Failla
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