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

Gaithersburg, MD
Breaking News
Drunk Driver Slams Into Trooper’s Cruiser On I-270 In Gaithersburg, Sends Him To Hospital: MSP Drunk Driver Slams Into Trooper’s Cruiser On I-270 In Gaithersburg, Sends Him To Hospital: MSP Drunk Driver Slams Into Trooper’s Cruiser On I-270 In Gaithersburg, Sends Him To Hospital: MSP
Drunk Driver Slams Into Trooper’s Cruiser On I-270 In Gaithersburg, Sends Him To Hospital: MSP An allegedly drunk driver is facing charges after hospitalizing a Maryland State Police trooper when he slammed into his cruiser on I-270 in Montgomery County on Sunday night. Troopers were called shortly before 9:30 p.m. on March 23 to the southbound lanes of the interstate near Watkins Mill Road in Gaithersburg, where there was a reported crash involving a trooper. Investigators say that Gaithersburg resident Job David Martinez, 35, was heading south on I-270 when his Honda crashed into the back of a marked patrol vehicle, which had its emergency lights activated at the time. SB I270 …

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by Zak Failla
National Interest
Quadruple Amputee Asked Friends To Pull Murder Victim From Car After La Plata Shooting: Cops Quadruple Amputee Asked Friends To Pull Murder Victim From Car After La Plata Shooting: Cops Quadruple Amputee Asked Friends To Pull Murder Victim From Car After La Plata Shooting: Cops
Quadruple Amputee Asked Friends To Pull Murder Victim From Car After La Plata Shooting: Cops A quadruple amputee and professional cornhole player was arrested in Virginia after allegedly shooting and killing a 27-year-old man during an argument in Maryland on Sunday night.  Dayton James Webber, 27, is being held in Charlottesville, pending his extradition back to Charles County, in connection to the murder of Waldorf resident Bradrick Michael Wells on March 22, according to the sheriff's office.  About Dayton Webber Webber is a quadruple amputee and professional cornhole player who often shares videos of himself hunting, fishing, and shooting a crossbow to his more than 1…

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by Zak Failla
Silver Spring, MD
Breaking News
Silver Spring Man Who Drove MS-13 Gunmen In Deadly Retaliation Over Defaced Graffiti Sentenced Silver Spring Man Who Drove MS-13 Gunmen In Deadly Retaliation Over Defaced Graffiti Sentenced Silver Spring Man Who Drove MS-13 Gunmen In Deadly Retaliation Over Defaced Graffiti Sentenced
Silver Spring Man Who Drove MS-13 Gunmen In Deadly Retaliation Over Defaced Graffiti Sentenced A Maryland man who served as the getaway driver for MS-13 gunmen who opened fire on a group of men in cold blood, killing one, will spend decades behind bars. Silver Spring native Jonathan Leon-Chacon, 28, was sentenced to 75 years in prison for his role in a deadly late-night meetup that led to the death of 19-year-old Willians Anderson Alberto Cruz in 2022, the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office announced on Monday, March 23. The shooting happened around 3:58 a.m. on Nov. 9, 2022, on Colony Road, where four victims had gathered near a car, listening to music. According to chargi…

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by Zak Failla
Triangle-Dumfries, VA
Breaking News
Dumfries Basketball Court Shooting: Man Arrested For Murder, Suspect Still At Large, Police Say Dumfries Basketball Court Shooting: Man Arrested For Murder, Suspect Still At Large, Police Say Dumfries Basketball Court Shooting: Man Arrested For Murder, Suspect Still At Large, Police Say
Dumfries Basketball Court Shooting: Man Arrested For Murder, Suspect Still At Large, Police Say A second man has been arrested, and another remains at large following the deadly basketball court shooting that left an 18-year-old dead and four others wounded in Virginia, authorities announced on Monday.  Ryan Alexander Butler, 20, was arrested at his Triangle home and charged in connection with the murder of Dumfries native Louis Anthony Boone earlier this month during a dispute, according to the Prince William County Police Department. The incident happened near the 1800 block of Potomac Shores Parkway in Dumfries, where officers were called to an outdoor recreation area around 5…

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by Zak Failla
Westminster, MD
Breaking News
Carroll County ‘Explosion’ Turns Out To Be Blown Tank, Twisted Metal Mess: Fire Marshal Carroll County ‘Explosion’ Turns Out To Be Blown Tank, Twisted Metal Mess: Fire Marshal Carroll County ‘Explosion’ Turns Out To Be Blown Tank, Twisted Metal Mess: Fire Marshal
Carroll County ‘Explosion’ Turns Out To Be Blown Tank, Twisted Metal Mess: Fire Marshal An investigation was launched in Northern Maryland on Friday after a busy Carroll County nursery went up in flames in what was initially probed as an explosion. A 65-year-old man was airlifted to an area hospital, and two other employees were injured at the Catoctin Mountain Nursery in Keymar on March 20, leaving two of them with critical burn injuries. Firefighters from Carroll, Frederick, and Adams counties were called shortly after 5 p.m. to the 23-acre nursery, where a reported fire resulted in a partial building collapse in the 8000 block of Sixes Bridge Road, officials said. Further …

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
Track Coach Arrested On Child Porn Charges, Facing Termination From Fairfax County School: FCPD Track Coach Arrested On Child Porn Charges, Facing Termination From Fairfax County School: FCPD Track Coach Arrested On Child Porn Charges, Facing Termination From Fairfax County School: FCPD
Track Coach Arrested On Child Porn Charges, Facing Termination From Fairfax County School: Fcpd A 28-year-old man working as a track coach at a Virginia high school is set to be fired and will face serious criminal charges, police say. Kingstowne resident Richard Huerta, an assistant coach with Fairfax County Public Schools since August 2025, has been arrested and charged with 10 counts of possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM) following a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). According to the Fairfax County Police Department, during their investigation, detectives searched several of Huerta's electronic devices, which uncovered CSAM. Hue…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
31-Time Offender Tosses Gun, Fentanyl From DC High-Rise As Child Watches: Feds 31-Time Offender Tosses Gun, Fentanyl From DC High-Rise As Child Watches: Feds 31-Time Offender Tosses Gun, Fentanyl From DC High-Rise As Child Watches: Feds
31-Time Offender Tosses Gun, Fentanyl From DC High-Rise As Child Watches: Feds A repeat offender with 31 prior arrests tried to dump a bag packed with a loaded gun and thousands of fentanyl pills out of a DC apartment window — with a 4-year-old child inside — as police closed in. Derrick Thomas Martin, 33, was convicted by a federal jury in Washington, DC, on Thursday, March 19, after jurors needed less than a day to find him guilty on multiple drug and gun charges. The case traces back to Nov. 25, 2024, when Metropolitan Police officers went to an apartment on Pennsylvania Avenue SE to arrest Martin on an outstanding warrant. Instead of surrendering, Martin went for…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
Graphic Bodycam Video Released In Fairfax Family Stabbing That Led To Fatal Police Shooting Graphic Bodycam Video Released In Fairfax Family Stabbing That Led To Fatal Police Shooting Graphic Bodycam Video Released In Fairfax Family Stabbing That Led To Fatal Police Shooting
Graphic Bodycam Video Released In Fairfax Family Stabbing That Led To Fatal Police Shooting Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis has released harrowing bodycam footage of the moments leading up to the fatal officer-involved shooting after Chhatra Thapa killed two family members in front of an infant. The 54-year-old Fairfax man was shot and killed by officers after fatally stabbing his wife and daughter and then attacking his son-in-law inside a Mantua apartment early on Monday, Feb. 23, according to police. Mamta Thapa, 33, and Binda Thapa, 52, also of Fairfax, died at the hospital after suffering stab wounds during the attack. The son-in-law remains hospitalized with cr…

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by Zak Failla
Germantown, MD
Your Community
Germantown Sinkhole Crisis: Sewer Main Collapse Triggers Gas Leak, School Closure (UPDATED) Germantown Sinkhole Crisis: Sewer Main Collapse Triggers Gas Leak, School Closure (UPDATED) Germantown Sinkhole Crisis: Sewer Main Collapse Triggers Gas Leak, School Closure (UPDATED)
Germantown Sinkhole Crisis: Sewer Main Collapse Triggers Gas Leak, School Closure (Updated) A sewer main collapse triggered the massive sinkhole and gas leak that shut down multiple roads in Maryland and closed a nearby elementary school, officials confirmed. WSSC Water crews responded to the scene shortly after 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 19, to the 19100 block of Liberty Mill Road in Germantown, where there was a reported collapse that disrupted the area. The collapse involved a 30-inch sewer main and caused the ground above it to give way, leading to the large sinkhole reported later in the morning, officials said. The damage also ruptured a nearby Washington Gas service line…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Baltimore Prosecutors Push Back After 30-Year Sentence In Fatal Teen Bystander Shooting Baltimore Prosecutors Push Back After 30-Year Sentence In Fatal Teen Bystander Shooting Baltimore Prosecutors Push Back After 30-Year Sentence In Fatal Teen Bystander Shooting
Baltimore Prosecutors Push Back After 30-Year Sentence In Fatal Teen Bystander Shooting A Maryland man convicted in the fatal shooting of an innocent teenage bystander has been sentenced, but prosecutors say the punishment does not go far enough. Alexis Cancel-Soto was sentenced to life in prison, with all but 30 years suspended, on Thursday, March 19, in Baltimore, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office. The case stems from a shooting that left Cameran Holt, an innocent teen, critically injured before she later died from her wounds. Prosecutors had pushed for a harsher penalty. “Today’s sentencing of Defendant Alexis Cancel-Soto to life, suspending all but 30 years, rep…

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by Zak Failla
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