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

Silver Spring, MD
Breaking News
Silver Spring Driver Admits To 84 MPH Crash That Killed Woman, 85, Heading Home From Church Silver Spring Driver Admits To 84 MPH Crash That Killed Woman, 85, Heading Home From Church Silver Spring Driver Admits To 84 MPH Crash That Killed Woman, 85, Heading Home From Church
Silver Spring Driver Admits To 84 MPH Crash That Killed Woman, 85, Heading Home From Church She admitted it. A Maryland driver who prosecutors say tore through morning rush-hour traffic at more than double the speed limit before triggering a crash that killed an 85-year-old woman has pleaded guilty. Jesica Argueta, 23, of Silver Spring, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Montgomery County Circuit Court to her role in the August 2025 crash that claimed the life of Josephine Gieske and seriously injured another victim. The deadly crash was reportedly shortly before 7:45 a.m. on Aug. 7, 2025, at the intersection of Randolph Road and Sherwood Forest Drive in Silver Spring. According to prose…

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by Zak Failla
Capitol Heights-District Heights, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Woman Faces Possible Limb Loss After Motorcycle Crash As Recovery Battle Begins Maryland Woman Faces Possible Limb Loss After Motorcycle Crash As Recovery Battle Begins Maryland Woman Faces Possible Limb Loss After Motorcycle Crash As Recovery Battle Begins
Maryland Woman Faces Possible Limb Loss After Motorcycle Crash As Recovery Battle Begins Her toughest ride is just beginning. A Maryland woman remains hospitalized and faces the possibility of losing a limb after a devastating motorcycle crash.  Friends say multiple surgeries still lie ahead before her long road to recovery can truly begin. District Heights resident Nakima Williams remains in the hospital as doctors continue treating the severe injuries she suffered in the crash.  Fellow rider Gerald Glover, who spoke with Williams this week, said she is scheduled to undergo two more surgeries and still faces "a long road ahead." According to friends, Williams is b…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Obituaries
Father Dies Four Days After Daughter, 18, Killed On DC-295, Leaving Mom To Plan Two Funerals Father Dies Four Days After Daughter, 18, Killed On DC-295, Leaving Mom To Plan Two Funerals Father Dies Four Days After Daughter, 18, Killed On DC-295, Leaving Mom To Plan Two Funerals
Father Dies Four Days After Daughter, 18, Killed On DC-295, Leaving Mom To Plan Two Funerals One unimaginable loss became two in less than a week. Four days after 18-year-old Camari Primrose was struck and killed on DC-295, her father, Edwin Primrose, suffered a fatal heart attack, leaving a Maryland mother with the heartbreaking task of planning two funerals in the span of a single week. Camari, of Silver Spring, was killed early Monday, July 13, in Southeast Washington, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. According to MPD's preliminary investigation, Camari exited a vehicle stopped in the northbound lanes before entering the southbound lanes of DC-295, where she was…

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by Zak Failla
McLean, VA
Breaking News
Special Ed Teacher Accused Of Inappropriate Contact With Student Arrested In Fairfax: Police Special Ed Teacher Accused Of Inappropriate Contact With Student Arrested In Fairfax: Police Special Ed Teacher Accused Of Inappropriate Contact With Student Arrested In Fairfax: Police
Special Ed Teacher Accused Of Inappropriate Contact With Student Arrested In Fairfax: Police A special education teacher in Northern Maryland was arrested following a monthlong investigation into allegations that he had inappropriate contact with a student. King George resident Eliseo Perez, 35, who works at Cooper Middle School, allegedly had unlawful and inappropriate contact with a student in May 2026. The investigation was launched on June 4, when school administrators at Cooper Middle School were notified of concerns regarding inappropriate behavior involving a teacher. Detectives from the Child Abuse Squad were notified and assumed the investigation. Perez turned himself in …

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by Zak Failla
Linthicum, MD
Breaking News
Linthicum Heights Man Spent $29K+ To Direct Filipino Children's Live Sex Abuse, Feds Say Linthicum Heights Man Spent $29K+ To Direct Filipino Children's Live Sex Abuse, Feds Say Linthicum Heights Man Spent $29K+ To Direct Filipino Children's Live Sex Abuse, Feds Say
Linthicum Heights Man Spent $29K+ To Direct Filipino Children's Live Sex Abuse, Feds Say A Maryland man is facing federal prison time after admitting that he dished out thousands of dollars to watch Filipino children be sexually abused live online, authorities announced. Linthicum Heights resident Philip Andrew Turner, 47, pleaded guilty to coercion and enticement in connection with what prosecutors described as a child sex trafficking operation based out of the Philippines. According to the US Attorney's Office, Turner began communicating with a known Filipino trafficker over Skype between November 2017 and March 2018, using the platform to entice and coerce minors into engagi…

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by Zak Failla
Randallstown, MD
Breaking News
Randallstown Dealer Discussed Cutting Fentanyl With Supplier To Prevent Overdoses, Feds Say Randallstown Dealer Discussed Cutting Fentanyl With Supplier To Prevent Overdoses, Feds Say Randallstown Dealer Discussed Cutting Fentanyl With Supplier To Prevent Overdoses, Feds Say
Randallstown Dealer Discussed Cutting Fentanyl With Supplier To Prevent Overdoses, Feds Say Federal prosecutors say a Maryland fentanyl dealer and his supplier discussed the drug's potency, then mixed in cutting agents to make it less likely to kill the people buying it. That conversation became part of the case against 50-year-old Jacque "Hammer" Brown, of Randallstown, who was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison after investigators uncovered a large-scale fentanyl operation inside his Baltimore County home. The investigation began in March 2025 after the DEA received information that Brown was distributing fentanyl throughout the Baltimore area. Agents tracked his…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Same Face, Same Place: Virginia Man Busted With Drugs, Gun One Month After Conviction, Feds Say Same Face, Same Place: Virginia Man Busted With Drugs, Gun One Month After Conviction, Feds Say Same Face, Same Place: Virginia Man Busted With Drugs, Gun One Month After Conviction, Feds Say
Same Face, Same Place: Virginia Man Busted With Drugs, Gun One Month After Conviction, Feds Say Some people never learn. Virginia prosecutors say 23-year-old Atio Terrain Walton had barely begun serving supervised release for drug and gun crimes before Richmond police caught him with cocaine and another firearm, sending him back to federal prison. Walton was sentenced to one year and three months behind bars after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced. The case dates back to July 10, 2025, when Richmond police spotted Walton among a group gathered outside a vacant unit in Richmond's Sou…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
DC Man Arrested Hours After Crystal City Bank Robbery, Arlington Police Say DC Man Arrested Hours After Crystal City Bank Robbery, Arlington Police Say DC Man Arrested Hours After Crystal City Bank Robbery, Arlington Police Say
DC Man Arrested Hours After Crystal City Bank Robbery, Arlington Police Say He didn't make it a full day. Less than 24 hours after a bank robber handed a teller a demand note in Crystal City and walked out with cash, Arlington detectives say they had the suspect in custody. Police arrested 36-year-old DC resident Brian Frances on Wednesday, July 22, in connection with Tuesday afternoon's robbery at a bank in the 1400 block of South Eads Street, according to the Arlington County Police Department. The robbery happened around 12:24 p.m. on July 21. Investigators say Frances walked into the bank, handed a teller a note demanding money, then fled with an undisclosed …

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Wanted Tow Truck Driver Arrested As Police Probe Alleged Scheme Across VA, MD, DC Wanted Tow Truck Driver Arrested As Police Probe Alleged Scheme Across VA, MD, DC Wanted Tow Truck Driver Arrested As Police Probe Alleged Scheme Across VA, MD, DC
Wanted Tow Truck Driver Arrested As Police Probe Alleged Scheme Across VA, MD, DC A swinging tow truck load was just the beginning. What started as a routine traffic stop in Virginia quickly unraveled into the arrest of a wanted man who police say has spent months under investigation for allegedly preying on drivers across three jurisdictions. The encounter happened July 16 near Plank Road and Huntington Hills, where an officer spotted a tow truck make a sudden lane change that caused the vehicle it was hauling to swing dangerously into traffic, according to the Fredericksburg Police Department. The officer also noticed something unusual about the truck's license plate.…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Visited These Southern Maryland Spots? Health Officials Warn Of Measles Exposure Visited These Southern Maryland Spots? Health Officials Warn Of Measles Exposure Visited These Southern Maryland Spots? Health Officials Warn Of Measles Exposure
Visited These Southern Maryland Spots? Health Officials Warn Of Measles Exposure Two more measles cases have health officials racing to track down anyone who may have crossed paths with the infected patients. The Maryland Department of Health confirmed on Wednesday, July 22, that two Southern Maryland residents tested positive for measles after recently traveling to another state experiencing an active outbreak. Now, health officials are warning that anyone who visited three locations in St. Mary's County during specific timeframes may have been exposed to the highly contagious virus. The potential exposure sites are: J&R Feeds LLC, 28038 Thompsons Corner Road in…

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by Zak Failla
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