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

Woodstock-Marriottsville, MD
Breaking News
Former Detective From Woodstock Who Secretly Filmed, Sexually Exploited Children Sentenced: DOJ Former Detective From Woodstock Who Secretly Filmed, Sexually Exploited Children Sentenced: DOJ Former Detective From Woodstock Who Secretly Filmed, Sexually Exploited Children Sentenced: DOJ
Former Detective From Woodstock Who Secretly Filmed, Sexually Exploited Children Sentenced: DOJ A longtime sheriff's detective in Maryland who once investigated domestic violence cases for decades will spend years behind bars after admitting to sexually exploiting children and secretly recording them. Ryan Christopher Hall, 51, of Woodstock, spent 27 years with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office before the feds slapped him with a 10-count indictment for allegedly abusing two minors between May 2017 and October 2024, according to the US Attorney’s Office. In December, authorities announced that Hall pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child sexual a…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
MTA Train Fatally Strikes Man At Shot Tower Station In Baltimore (DEVELOPING) MTA Train Fatally Strikes Man At Shot Tower Station In Baltimore (DEVELOPING) MTA Train Fatally Strikes Man At Shot Tower Station In Baltimore (DEVELOPING)
MTA Train Fatally Strikes Man At Shot Tower Station In Baltimore (Developing) A man believed to be in his 20s or 30s was killed Tuesday afternoon after being struck by an MTA train at Shot Tower Station in downtown Baltimore. The Baltimore City Fire Department responded to the 700 block of East Baltimore Street around 2 p.m. for reports that a civilian had been hit by a train and was trapped near the platform. Firefighters quickly removed the man and began emergency treatment at the scene. Despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead by first responders. His identity has not been released. The incident shut down Metro SubwayLink service at Shot Tower as police beg…

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
Forklift Murder At Waldorf Home Depot Lands Man Decades In Prison: 'Sad All The Way Around' Forklift Murder At Waldorf Home Depot Lands Man Decades In Prison: 'Sad All The Way Around' Forklift Murder At Waldorf Home Depot Lands Man Decades In Prison: 'Sad All The Way Around'
Forklift Murder At Waldorf Home Depot Lands Man Decades In Prison: 'Sad All The Way Around' The man convicted of using a forklift to kill a woman at a Southern Maryland Home Depot will spend decades behind bars. Bryce Caleb Timothy Brown has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after being found guilty of the murder of Gloristine Pinkney nearly three years ago, according to the Charles County State's Attorney's Office. On July 2, 2023, members of the Charles County Sheriff's Office were called to investigate a reported burglary in progress at Lowe's in Waldorf, where they spoke with employees and managers working the overnight shift who reported hearing loud banging noises. …

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by Zak Failla
Arbutus-Halethorpe, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Detective Cleared After Fatal Shooting Of Arbutus Man Armed With Bow And Arrow: AG Maryland Detective Cleared After Fatal Shooting Of Arbutus Man Armed With Bow And Arrow: AG Maryland Detective Cleared After Fatal Shooting Of Arbutus Man Armed With Bow And Arrow: AG
Maryland Detective Cleared After Fatal Shooting Of Arbutus Man Armed With Bow And Arrow: AG A Baltimore County detective who fatally shot a masked man armed with a loaded bow and arrow in Arbutus last year will not face criminal charges, Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced Tuesday. The decision closes the case stemming from the April 23, 2025, officer-involved shooting that followed reports of a man firing arrows at passing vehicles in the 1400 block of Linden Avenue. At approximately 10:22 a.m. that day, Baltimore County Police received multiple calls about a masked man discharging arrows at cars, according to the Independent Investigations Division (IID) report.…

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by Zak Failla
National Interest
McLean Foreign Service Officer Killed After Deadly Rampage On Capital Beltway (UPDATE) McLean Foreign Service Officer Killed After Deadly Rampage On Capital Beltway (UPDATE) McLean Foreign Service Officer Killed After Deadly Rampage On Capital Beltway (UPDATE)
McLean Foreign Service Officer Killed After Deadly Rampage On Capital Beltway (Update) The man who stabbed four women, killing one, along with his dog on the Capital Beltway in a road rage incident, has been identified as a foreign service officer. The suspect, identified as 32-year-old Jared Llamado, of McLean, was shot and killed by a trooper after the violent rampage that shut down I-495 for hours Sunday afternoon, March 1. One of the victims, 39-year-old Michele Adams, later died from her injuries. Jared Llamado Facebook Llamado's LinkedIn shows he has worked as a tech officer since September 2024 for the U.S. Department of State. The attack unfolded aro…

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by Zak Failla
Silver Spring, MD
Obituaries
Tragedy In Maryland: Young Mom Dies From Aneurysm, Husband Now Sole Parent To Two Boys Tragedy In Maryland: Young Mom Dies From Aneurysm, Husband Now Sole Parent To Two Boys Tragedy In Maryland: Young Mom Dies From Aneurysm, Husband Now Sole Parent To Two Boys
Tragedy In Maryland: Young Mom Dies From Aneurysm, Husband Now Sole Parent To Two Boys A Maryland father is now raising his two young sons alone after his wife died in her sleep from an aneurysm. Tragedy struck for Jay Duong in Silver Spring, when his 39-year-old wife unexpectedly passed away, leaving him alone to care for their children and her mother. “Recently, Jay’s beloved wife passed away unexpectedly from an aneurysm in her sleep, leaving him, their two sons, and her mother heartbroken and struggling to adjust to this sudden loss,” Mytu and Tony Nguyen, who have been friends with the family for decades, said. "He is someone who has always been there for his friends an…

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by Zak Failla
Bethesda, MD
Breaking News
Betrayal In Bethesda: Yoga Teacher Sentenced After Killing Professor, Fleeing 15 Years Betrayal In Bethesda: Yoga Teacher Sentenced After Killing Professor, Fleeing 15 Years Betrayal In Bethesda: Yoga Teacher Sentenced After Killing Professor, Fleeing 15 Years
Betrayal In Bethesda: Yoga Teacher Sentenced After Killing Professor, Fleeing 15 Years A Mexican man who served as a trusted yoga and Spanish teacher before killing an American University professor in her Maryland home and going on the run for 15 years will spend decades in prison.  Jorge Rueda Landeros, 56, of Juarez, Mexico, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of the murder of 52-year-old Sue Ann Marcum in 2010, the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office announced on Tuesday.  Prosecutors said Landeros was Marcum’s yoga and Spanish instructor.  The two developed both a personal and financial relationship before she was foun…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Caught Purple-Handed In Fredericksburg: Paint-Splattered Suspect Hides In Bushes, Police Say Caught Purple-Handed In Fredericksburg: Paint-Splattered Suspect Hides In Bushes, Police Say Caught Purple-Handed In Fredericksburg: Paint-Splattered Suspect Hides In Bushes, Police Say
Caught Purple-Handed In Fredericksburg: Paint-Splattered Suspect Hides In Bushes, Police Say Qwevonne Tyece Smith took finger painting to a whole new level in Northern Virginia. There was no lack of evidence for detectives from the Fredericksburg Police Department to process after the 30-year-old was caught purple-handed following a reported vandalism incident inside an area business. Officers were called on Monday, March 2, to a building in the 800 block of Caroline Street for reports of a suspicious person with purple paint on their head. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. A Fredericksburg Sheriff's Office deputy made contact with Smith before he fled on foot down the st…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
High School Senior Killed In Fiery I-66 Crash In Manassas Just Weeks Before Graduation Day High School Senior Killed In Fiery I-66 Crash In Manassas Just Weeks Before Graduation Day High School Senior Killed In Fiery I-66 Crash In Manassas Just Weeks Before Graduation Day
High School Senior Killed In Fiery I-66 Crash In Manassas Just Weeks Before Graduation Day A Virginia high school senior who had just picked up his graduation gown was killed in a fiery crash on I-66 weeks before he was set to celebrate the milestone he worked so hard to reach. José Daniel Rivera Quintana, 19, of Bristow, died shortly after 3:15 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28, when his Toyota Corolla slammed into the back of a parked tractor-trailer in the eastbound lanes of I-66 near the rest area at the 49-mile marker, according to Virginia State Police. The impact caused the sedan to burst into flames. Investigators said the 2024 Kenworth tractor-trailer was legally parked at the re…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioter Arrested For 'Inappropriate Behavior' Toward Metro Customers: Police Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioter Arrested For 'Inappropriate Behavior' Toward Metro Customers: Police Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioter Arrested For 'Inappropriate Behavior' Toward Metro Customers: Police
Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioter Arrested For 'Inappropriate Behavior' Toward Metro Customers: Police A pardoned Jan. 6 rioter and Proud Boys fanatic was arrested after going viral for livestreaming himself touching the hair of unsuspecting women on Metro trains, authorities announced. Bryan Betancur, 28, was arrested by Metro Transit Police hours after issuing an alert asking for the public’s help identifying him in connection with an alleged assault on a Silver Line train. We are aware of videos circulating on social media depicting inappropriate behavior toward Metro customers. We’re taking reports seriously and actively investigating every lead. If you have information about this ind…

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by Zak Failla
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