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

Clifton-Fairfax Station, VA
Your Community
ICE Pressures Spanberger After Virginia Man Charged With Child Rape, Porn Crimes: Feds ICE Pressures Spanberger After Virginia Man Charged With Child Rape, Porn Crimes: Feds ICE Pressures Spanberger After Virginia Man Charged With Child Rape, Porn Crimes: Feds
ICE Pressures Spanberger After Virginia Man Charged With Child Rape, Porn Crimes: Feds Federal immigration officials are publicly pressuring Gov. Abigail Spanberger after a Virginia man accused of raping a child and possessing child pornography was flagged for deportation following his arrest. Authorities in Franklin County say Jorge Enrique Garcia-Rodriguez, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, was arrested on Wednesday, April 2, and charged with forcible intercourse involving a victim younger than 13. Then came more charges. According to the Department of Homeland Security, Garcia-Rodriguez was charged again on Thursday, May 1 with six felony counts of possession of chil…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Banned From Internet, Virginia Man Caught With Child Porn Again Months After Release: DOJ Banned From Internet, Virginia Man Caught With Child Porn Again Months After Release: DOJ Banned From Internet, Virginia Man Caught With Child Porn Again Months After Release: DOJ
Banned From Internet, Virginia Man Caught With Child Porn Again Months After Release: DOJ It took Jesse Lee Wise less than four months to reoffend after he was released from prison on child porn charges, federal authorities say. The Norfolk man was sentenced to 10 more years in prison after he attempted to view child sexual abuse material (CSAM) while on supervised release for a previous conviction. Wise was released on April 18, 2025, and was caught again on Aug. 13, 2025. According to court documents, in January 2010, Wise, 42, was sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, after being convicted of attempted enticement o…

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by Zak Failla
Stafford, VA
Breaking News
Open Alcohol Containers Found After DUI Crash Into Tractor-Trailer In Stafford: Sheriff Open Alcohol Containers Found After DUI Crash Into Tractor-Trailer In Stafford: Sheriff Open Alcohol Containers Found After DUI Crash Into Tractor-Trailer In Stafford: Sheriff
Open Alcohol Containers Found After DUI Crash Into Tractor-Trailer In Stafford: Sheriff A Maryland man was held behind bars after deputies say he admitted to drinking before rear-ending a tractor-trailer in Virginia. The crash happened shortly before 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19, on Warrenton Road, when deputies responded to the area for a reported crash, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators say Sykesville resident Mark Tucker, 38, who caused the crash, showed multiple signs of impairment, including glassy eyes, slurred speech, and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. While speaking with Tucker, deputies said he was unable to locate his license,…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Weather
Brutal Maryland Heatwave Gives Way To Dangerous Storms, Hail, Flooding: Forecasters Brutal Maryland Heatwave Gives Way To Dangerous Storms, Hail, Flooding: Forecasters Brutal Maryland Heatwave Gives Way To Dangerous Storms, Hail, Flooding: Forecasters
Brutal Maryland Heatwave Gives Way To Dangerous Storms, Hail, Flooding: Forecasters andMaryland and Virginia are about to go from sweating through near-record heat to dodging potentially dangerous storms in a matter of hours. After days of brutal temperatures baked the region under some of the hottest May weather ever recorded, forecasters warned Wednesday that the atmosphere was primed for severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging winds, hail, flooding, and dangerous evening commute conditions across much of the region. The National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, for large portions of Maryland and Virginia as…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Scooter Rider Who Terrorized Women In Woodbridge Charged In Serial Assault Case: Police Scooter Rider Who Terrorized Women In Woodbridge Charged In Serial Assault Case: Police Scooter Rider Who Terrorized Women In Woodbridge Charged In Serial Assault Case: Police
Scooter Rider Who Terrorized Women In Woodbridge Charged In Serial Assault Case: Police Charges have been obtained against a teen scooter rider who has terrorized women in his Virginia neighborhood for months. The Prince William County Police Department announced on Wednesday, May 20, that a 17-year-old has been charged in connection with a series of sexual assaults in the Powell's Creek area in Woodbridge between May 2025 and April 2026. Specifically, the boy is charged with six counts of sexual battery. For months, women described nearly identical encounters: a man riding a black stand-up electric scooter approaching victims on trails and sidewalks before allegedly touching…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Man Flees On Bus After Assaulting Woman During Strange Bus Stop Rant In Woodbridge: Police Man Flees On Bus After Assaulting Woman During Strange Bus Stop Rant In Woodbridge: Police Man Flees On Bus After Assaulting Woman During Strange Bus Stop Rant In Woodbridge: Police
Man Flees On Bus After Assaulting Woman During Strange Bus Stop Rant In Woodbridge: Police What started as a strange conversation and global events at a Virginia bus stop ended with a 30-year-old man in jail after assaulting a woman, police say. Officers from the Prince William County Police Department were called around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19, to the Neabsco-Potomac Commuter Garage in Woodbridge, where there was a reported incident involving a 35-year-old woman at the bus stop. According to police, the woman was approached by Springfield resident Zohaib Jamil Ahmad, who began to badger her about hot-button issues. During the encounter, it is alleged that Ahmad beca…

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by Zak Failla
Gaithersburg, MD
Obituaries
‘Deeply Loved’: 25-Year-Old Gaithersburg Biker Remembered After Fatal Crash Near I-270 Ramp ‘Deeply Loved’: 25-Year-Old Gaithersburg Biker Remembered After Fatal Crash Near I-270 Ramp ‘Deeply Loved’: 25-Year-Old Gaithersburg Biker Remembered After Fatal Crash Near I-270 Ramp
‘Deeply Loved’: 25-Year-Old Gaithersburg Biker Remembered After Fatal Crash Near I-270 Ramp Roger Gustavo Pineda Cardona was just 25 years old when tragedy struck his family after his motorcycle crashed near an I-270 ramp in Maryland. Now, his family is trying to bring his body back to his native country for a proper homecoming and funeral. Around 9:45 on Saturday, May 16, Pineda Cardona was riding his green 2008 Kawasaki EX250 eastbound on West Diamond Avenue when he struck the back of a Toyota Camry in Gaithersburg. Investigators say the Camry was attempting to turn left from West Diamond Avenue onto the southbound I-270 ramp at the time of the collision. Pineda Cardona w…

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by Zak Failla
Aberdeen, MD
Breaking News
Aberdeen Man Who Broke Into Federal Prison To Smuggle Contraband Now Sentenced To Stay There Aberdeen Man Who Broke Into Federal Prison To Smuggle Contraband Now Sentenced To Stay There Aberdeen Man Who Broke Into Federal Prison To Smuggle Contraband Now Sentenced To Stay There
Aberdeen Man Who Broke Into Federal Prison To Smuggle Contraband Now Sentenced To Stay There James Hampton-Smith had a plan. It was not a great plan. It was a plan that ended with him spending more than a year in prison. The Maryland man who jumped the gate of a Pennsylvania penitentiary will spend time behind those bars after being busted attempting to smuggle contraband into the facility for an inmate. United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg Google Maps satellite view Hampton-Smith, an Aberdeen resident, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for conspiring with an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution, Lewisburg, in Union County. According to prosecutors, on …

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by Zak Failla
Elkton, MD
Breaking News
‘Senseless’ Killing Of Elkton 7-Eleven Clerk Covering Shift Ends With Life Sentence ‘Senseless’ Killing Of Elkton 7-Eleven Clerk Covering Shift Ends With Life Sentence ‘Senseless’ Killing Of Elkton 7-Eleven Clerk Covering Shift Ends With Life Sentence
‘Senseless’ Killing Of Elkton 7-Eleven Clerk Covering Shift Ends With Life Sentence The masked man who "senselessly" claimed the life of a 7-Eleven employee in Maryland will spend the rest of his life in prison for the murder of a woman nearly five years ago. Sharif Quadir McCormick, 26, was sentenced to serve the rest of his life in prison for the November 2021 shooting of Brenda Duncan, who was working the midnight shift at the convenience store in Elkton. McCormick was convicted of first-degree murder and other offenses in March. The case traces back to the early morning hours of Nov. 30, 2021, when officers with the Elkton Police Department responded around 4:55 a.m. …

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Baltimore Postal Worker Stole $700K In Checks, Hid Nearly 200 Pieces Of Mail: Feds Baltimore Postal Worker Stole $700K In Checks, Hid Nearly 200 Pieces Of Mail: Feds Baltimore Postal Worker Stole $700K In Checks, Hid Nearly 200 Pieces Of Mail: Feds
Baltimore Postal Worker Stole $700K In Checks, Hid Nearly 200 Pieces Of Mail: Feds A Maryland postal worker was busted with nearly 200 stolen pieces of mail and more than $700,000 in checks after investigators say he spent more than a year raiding the mail stream and funneling the money into his own bank accounts. Derrick Stewart, 34, admitted in federal court to a host of offenses tied to a sweeping check fraud scheme while working at a Baltimore USPS mail processing and distribution center, authorities announced Wednesday, May 20. According to the US Attorney’s Office, Stewart used his position at the postal facility between September 2022 and December 2023 to stea…

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by Zak Failla
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