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

Fort Washington, MD
Breaking News
Shoplifting Call In Fort Washington Turns Deadly When Suspects Crash After Fleeing: Police Shoplifting Call In Fort Washington Turns Deadly When Suspects Crash After Fleeing: Police Shoplifting Call In Fort Washington Turns Deadly When Suspects Crash After Fleeing: Police
Shoplifting Call In Fort Washington Turns Deadly When Suspects Crash After Fleeing: Police What started as a theft investigation at a local business led to a fatal crash in Maryland, police say. Officers from the Prince George's County Police Department were called around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29, to the 11900 block of Livingston Road in Fort Washington, where there were reports of a theft in progress involving two men. A responding officer encountered the two suspects leaving the store before the suspects sped out of the parking lot. According to police, shortly after the theft, the suspects’ vehicle crashed on Indian Head Highway near Palmer Road. The driver was pronoun…

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Your Community
Second Gun In Two Days Found At St. Charles High School, Student Taken Into Custody: Sheriff Second Gun In Two Days Found At St. Charles High School, Student Taken Into Custody: Sheriff Second Gun In Two Days Found At St. Charles High School, Student Taken Into Custody: Sheriff
Second Gun In Two Days Found At St. Charles High School, Student Taken Into Custody: Sheriff For the second straight day, officers from the Charles County Sheriff's Office were called to St. Charles High School to investigate reports of a student with a gun. On Thursday, April 30, an administrator in the building spotted a student acting suspiciously and holding a backpack in a "manner that appeared unusual," investigators said. When the student placed the bag in a locker, the administrator conducted a search, which led to the recovery of a fully-loaded handgun. The 15-year-old never displayed the weapon, according to the sheriff's office, the firearm was safely secured, and a Sch…

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by Zak Failla
Prince Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Infant Found Unresponsive After Assault In Prince Frederick, Man Arrested, Sheriff Says Infant Found Unresponsive After Assault In Prince Frederick, Man Arrested, Sheriff Says Infant Found Unresponsive After Assault In Prince Frederick, Man Arrested, Sheriff Says
Infant Found Unresponsive After Assault In Prince Frederick, Man Arrested, Sheriff Says A man trusted to care for an infant is facing charges after the child was assaulted and had to be rushed to the hospital, investigators in Maryland say. Branden Pernell Mackall, 35, was arrested by deputies from the Calvert County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday following an investigation into a child who had gone into cardiac arrest. Shortly after 11:30 a.m. on April 29, deputies were called to the 1600 block of Mint Court in Prince Frederick, where there was an unresponsive child inside a home. Deputies observed injuries to the infant consistent with an apparent assault, officials said, an…

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by Zak Failla
Cloverly-Colesville-Fairland, MD
Breaking News
Blake High School Shooting: Man Charged Days After Teen Shot In Parking Lot Brawl, Police Say Blake High School Shooting: Man Charged Days After Teen Shot In Parking Lot Brawl, Police Say Blake High School Shooting: Man Charged Days After Teen Shot In Parking Lot Brawl, Police Say
Blake High School Shooting: Man Charged Days After Teen Shot In Parking Lot Brawl, Police Say A Silver Spring man has been charged following a fight that broke out on Tuesday, leaving a teen shot at a Maryland high school. Djibia Gombo, 19, is being held behind bars after a gun was discharged during an altercation on Tuesday in the parking lot of Blake High School in the 300 block of Norwood Road in Cloverly. Officers were called shortly before 11:30 a.m. on April 29 to Blake High School in Montgomery County, where the situation unfolded, according to Montgomery County Police. Police say that during the fight, a handgun was discovered after it was reportedly thrown to the ground. T…

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by Zak Failla
Indian Head-Nanjemoy, MD
Breaking News
Nanjemoy Man Facing Nearly 1,500 Years Behind Bars In Child Porn Case Learns Prison Fate Nanjemoy Man Facing Nearly 1,500 Years Behind Bars In Child Porn Case Learns Prison Fate Nanjemoy Man Facing Nearly 1,500 Years Behind Bars In Child Porn Case Learns Prison Fate
Nanjemoy Man Facing Nearly 1,500 Years Behind Bars In Child Porn Case Learns Prison Fate A 66-year-old Maryland man who was facing more than 1,400 years in prison for hundreds of child porn offenses has learned his prison fate. Nanjemoy native Dennis Demoine Smith has been sentenced to 118 years in prison after being convicted at trial of 28 counts of use of a computer to depict minors in a sexual act and 237 counts of possession of child pornography, according to the Charles County State's Attorney's Office. Prosecutors say that between January and April 2023, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office received 14 cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploite…

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by Zak Failla
Cockeysville-Hunt Valley, MD
Breaking News
Student Lured Into Car By Man Claiming To Be ‘Family Friend’ In Baltimore County: Police Student Lured Into Car By Man Claiming To Be ‘Family Friend’ In Baltimore County: Police Student Lured Into Car By Man Claiming To Be ‘Family Friend’ In Baltimore County: Police
Student Lured Into Car By Man Claiming To Be ‘Family Friend’ In Baltimore County: Police A Maryland student was lured into a vehicle by a man pretending to know her family on Thursday morning, then driven to multiple locations before being dropped off at school, police say. The incident unfolded just before classes began on April 30, when officers were called to Cockeysville Middle School around 7:50 a.m. after the student came forward. She told investigators she was walking to school when the man approached her, claimed to be a family friend, and persuaded her to get inside his vehicle. Instead of taking her straight to school, the suspect drove her to several locations befor…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
DC Man On Probation For Violent Crime Sold Guns To Buyer Who Said He Was 'At War' DC Man On Probation For Violent Crime Sold Guns To Buyer Who Said He Was 'At War' DC Man On Probation For Violent Crime Sold Guns To Buyer Who Said He Was 'At War'
DC Man On Probation For Violent Crime Sold Guns To Buyer Who Said He Was 'At War' A District man already on probation for a violent felony is heading back to prison after selling several firearms to suspicious buyers — including one who said he needed the weapons because he was "at war."  Brandon Smith, 34, no stranger to law enforcement, was sentenced to 87 months in prison for conspiring to traffic at least nine guns to a prohibited buyer over the course of just six months, federal authorities announced on Thursday. Smith began moving guns in late 2023, advertising them by texting photos to potential buyers — including convicted felons — while he was already on su…

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by Zak Failla
Temple Hills-Camp Springs, MD
Obituaries
DC Mom Remembered For Love, Strength After Death In Temple Hills: 'Our Family's World Stopped' DC Mom Remembered For Love, Strength After Death In Temple Hills: 'Our Family's World Stopped' DC Mom Remembered For Love, Strength After Death In Temple Hills: 'Our Family's World Stopped'
DC Mom Remembered For Love, Strength After Death In Temple Hills: 'Our Family's World Stopped' A DC mother of three was found dead in a Maryland park, leaving her teenage daughters without the woman who held their family together. Juanita Frazier is being remembered as a "beloved sister and devoted mother" after the 38-year-old's body was found on Tuesday night in the parking lot of the Oxon Run Community Park in Temple Hills. Maryland-National Capital Park Police officers responded to a report of an unresponsive woman inside a vehicle around 10:15 p.m. on April 28. Frazier was pronounced dead at the scene. The fatal shooting remains under investigation days later. "Her loss has cr…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
No Wash, No Shame As Intoxicated Man Exposes Himself After Laundromat Snub In Woodbridge: PD No Wash, No Shame As Intoxicated Man Exposes Himself After Laundromat Snub In Woodbridge: PD No Wash, No Shame As Intoxicated Man Exposes Himself After Laundromat Snub In Woodbridge: PD
No Wash, No Shame As Intoxicated Man Exposes Himself After Laundromat Snub In Woodbridge: PD A boozy night in Virginia spun out of control for an intoxicated man who allegedly exposed himself to customers after being denied access to a laundromat, police say. Officers from the Prince William County Police Department were called to the Woodbridge Laundromat in the 1300 block of F Street shortly before 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29, for a reported indecent exposure incident. Police say Woodbridge resident David Alfredo Ochoa, 25, was intoxicated and attempted to enter the business. When he was unable to gain access, he allegedly exposed himself to a 40-year-old woman at the laundrom…

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by Zak Failla
Upper Marlboro, MD
Breaking News
61-Year-Old Woman Killed In Early-Morning Crash At Busy Upper Marlboro Intersection: MSP 61-Year-Old Woman Killed In Early-Morning Crash At Busy Upper Marlboro Intersection: MSP 61-Year-Old Woman Killed In Early-Morning Crash At Busy Upper Marlboro Intersection: MSP
61-Year-Old Woman Killed In Early-Morning Crash At Busy Upper Marlboro Intersection: MSP A woman was killed and a second driver suffered minor injuries following a crash at a busy Maryland intersection, state police say. Brenda Godbolt, 61, has been identified as the driver killed Thursday morning in Prince George's County in a crash involving an SUV in Upper Marlboro. According to Maryland State Police investigators, at around 4 a.m. on April 30, Glen Burnie resident Ronald Spangler, Jr., 30, was driving a Chevy Silverado north on Route 301 as he approached the traffic light at the intersection of Village Drive. As he approached, police say Godbolt's Mazda 3 entered the inter…

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by Zak Failla
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