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

Woodbridge, VA
Obituaries
Woodbridge Father, Grandfather Killed In Crash Was 'Devoted Family Man,' Loved Ones Say Woodbridge Father, Grandfather Killed In Crash Was 'Devoted Family Man,' Loved Ones Say Woodbridge Father, Grandfather Killed In Crash Was 'Devoted Family Man,' Loved Ones Say
Woodbridge Father, Grandfather Killed In Crash Was 'Devoted Family Man,' Loved Ones Say Julio Carlos Cruz Merino was more than the tragic crash that ended his life. He was a father. A grandfather. A husband. A steady presence in the lives of those who loved him. The 70-year-old Woodbridge resident died after being struck by a vehicle on Tuesday evening, Feb. 17, near Richmond Highway and Opitz Boulevard during the height of rush hour. But in the days since his passing, family and friends have focused on remembering the man they call kind, generous, and deeply devoted to those around him. “With deep sorrow, we share the unexpected passing of Julio Carlos Cruz Merino, age 7…

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by Zak Failla
Chevy Chase, MD
Your Community
From Hell’s Kitchen To Chevy Chase: Jon Bernthal Reportedly Buys $3.75 Million Home In The DMV From Hell’s Kitchen To Chevy Chase: Jon Bernthal Reportedly Buys $3.75 Million Home In The DMV From Hell’s Kitchen To Chevy Chase: Jon Bernthal Reportedly Buys $3.75 Million Home In The DMV
From Hell’s Kitchen To Chevy Chase: Jon Bernthal Reportedly Buys $3.75 Million Home In The DMV The Punisher is heading back to the DMV. Jon Bernthal, a DC native who grew up in Cabin John, purchased a $3.75 million property in Chevy Chase, according to multiple reports.  The Sidwell Friends School alum is best known for roles across film and television, including Marvel’s The Punisher, The Walking Dead, Daredevil, and The Bear, where he earned a Primetime Emmy Award. The actor is set to appear as Menelaus in the upcoming film Odyssey, alongside Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Anne Hathaway. Bernthal is also a co-star on the current Netflix hit His & Hers.  …

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by Zak Failla
Ellicott City, MD
Obituaries
Ellicott City Mom Of Five Killed By Estranged Husband Remembered For Love, Strength, Laughter Ellicott City Mom Of Five Killed By Estranged Husband Remembered For Love, Strength, Laughter Ellicott City Mom Of Five Killed By Estranged Husband Remembered For Love, Strength, Laughter
Ellicott City Mom Of Five Killed By Estranged Husband Remembered For Love, Strength, Laughter Amethyst Stephenson was more than the headline that followed her name. She was a mother of five in a blended family. A colleague who showed up every day with energy and humor. A woman who recently went back to school full-time to keep building a future she believed in. On Sunday morning, Feb. 8, 2026, her life ended inside her Maryland home. She was 47. Police were called shortly before 8:15 a.m. to the 3400 block of Huntsman Run in Ellicott City for a reported stabbing involving her estranged husband, who had recently been released from custody.  She was pronounced dead at the scen…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
Fort Eustis Soldier Who Coerced, Enticed Underage Girls Online Learns Prison Fate In Virginia Fort Eustis Soldier Who Coerced, Enticed Underage Girls Online Learns Prison Fate In Virginia Fort Eustis Soldier Who Coerced, Enticed Underage Girls Online Learns Prison Fate In Virginia
Fort Eustis Soldier Who Coerced, Enticed Underage Girls Online Learns Prison Fate In Virginia A soldier in Virginia will spend years in prison after coercing and enticing a minor on social media, federal authorities announced on Monday. Brady Beck Fant, 32, a soldier at Fort Eustis in Newport News, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after preying on minors using social media platforms. According to court documents, Fant targeted underage girls online and enticed them to send sexually graphic images and videos during inappropriate conversations. Prosecutors say he also sent illicit photos of himself to his young victims. After the North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children …

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by Zak Failla
Silver Spring, MD
Breaking News
Officer Inside As Police Cruiser Smashed During Montgomery County Street Takeover (VIDEO) Officer Inside As Police Cruiser Smashed During Montgomery County Street Takeover (VIDEO) Officer Inside As Police Cruiser Smashed During Montgomery County Street Takeover (VIDEO)
Officer Inside As Police Cruiser Smashed During Montgomery County Street Takeover (Video) Two marked police cruisers were smashed during a street takeover in Maryland early Sunday morning — one while an officer was sitting inside and recording the whole thing. The chaos unfolded at approximately 12:39 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 22, when Montgomery County Police were notified of a large group of vehicles linked to street takeover activity that began in Prince George’s County and moved toward the Silver Spring central business district. Around midnight, officers monitored the group and were able to close most of the intersections the caravan was heading toward in Silver Spring, police s…

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by Zak Failla
Hagerstown, MD
Your Community
Maryland Sues To Block $102M, 1,500-Bed ICE Facility In Washington County Town Of 2,000 Maryland Sues To Block $102M, 1,500-Bed ICE Facility In Washington County Town Of 2,000 Maryland Sues To Block $102M, 1,500-Bed ICE Facility In Washington County Town Of 2,000
Maryland Sues To Block $102M, 1,500-Bed ICE Facility In Washington County Town Of 2,000 Maryland’s top law enforcement official is going to court to stop what he calls an unlawful federal detention center project in Washington County. Attorney General Anthony G. Brown filed a lawsuit on Monday, Feb. 23, in Baltimore, challenging the Trump administration’s purchase and planned conversion of a massive warehouse near Williamsport into an ICE detention facility. The lawsuit targets the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the January 2026 purchase of a 54-acre warehouse just outside Williamsport for $102.4 million. “Local residents and busi…

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Obituaries
'Devoted' Waldorf Dad Of Four Dies After Parkway Crash Sends Car Into Oncoming Traffic 'Devoted' Waldorf Dad Of Four Dies After Parkway Crash Sends Car Into Oncoming Traffic 'Devoted' Waldorf Dad Of Four Dies After Parkway Crash Sends Car Into Oncoming Traffic
'Devoted' Waldorf Dad Of Four Dies After Parkway Crash Sends Car Into Oncoming Traffic Darwin Marquette Thomas left home on a Friday afternoon and never came back. The 53-year-old Waldorf father of four was killed in a violent crash shortly before 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 6, on Suitland Parkway in Southeast DC, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Thomas was a passenger in a 2006 Acura TL involved in a two-vehicle collision in the eastbound lanes of Suitland Parkway east of Stanton Road. According to detectives with the department's Major Crash Investigations Unit, the Acura was traveling westbound when it mounted the center median and struck a traffic pole.  …

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
Routine Oil Change Turns Deadly: Nokesville Man Crushed To Death By Own Truck Routine Oil Change Turns Deadly: Nokesville Man Crushed To Death By Own Truck Routine Oil Change Turns Deadly: Nokesville Man Crushed To Death By Own Truck
Routine Oil Change Turns Deadly: Nokesville Man Crushed To Death By Own Truck What started as a routine oil change turned deadly in Virginia when a 21-year-old man was crushed by his own tractor-truck in Nokesville over the weekend.  Officers from the Prince William County Police Department were called shortly before 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 21, to the 13900 block of Aden Road, where there was a report of a man who was trapped under a vehicle. When officers arrived, they found a man pinned underneath a 2016 Volvo tractor-truck outside his home, police said. Investigators believe that the man was changing the oil of the vehicle when it rolled forward and pinned hi…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Obituaries
Salisbury University Freshman Fighting For His Life After Car Sinks Into Frozen Maryland Pond Salisbury University Freshman Fighting For His Life After Car Sinks Into Frozen Maryland Pond Salisbury University Freshman Fighting For His Life After Car Sinks Into Frozen Maryland Pond
Salisbury University Freshman Fighting For His Life After Car Sinks Into Frozen Maryland Pond A Salisbury University student is fighting for his life after being  involved in a single-vehicle crash that ended with a car in a frozen pond and a recent Rockville High School graduate dead.  Andy Fon Koh, 18, a freshman at the Perdue School of Business, was airlifted to the hospital following the fatal crash in Wicomico County that claimed the life of Matthew Garcia.  At approximately 8:41 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11, officers from the Fruitland Police Department responded to S. Division Street at Coulbourn Mill for a report of a single-vehicle crash, according to Maryland …

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Fake Kidnapping, Real Jail: DC Woman Stages Own Abduction In Bizarre Extortion Plot, Police Say Fake Kidnapping, Real Jail: DC Woman Stages Own Abduction In Bizarre Extortion Plot, Police Say Fake Kidnapping, Real Jail: DC Woman Stages Own Abduction In Bizarre Extortion Plot, Police Say
Fake Kidnapping, Real Jail: DC Woman Stages Own Abduction In Bizarre Extortion Plot, Police Say Stranger than fiction. A woman sent a photo of herself bound and gagged to help shake down her own friend for ransom money, police in DC say. The twisted scheme unfolded on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, when officers were called about a possible kidnapping in Southeast Washington, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. To make it convincing, they sent a photo. The image showed the friend bound and gagged, and the suspects demanded ransom money in exchange for her safe release, police said. Instead of paying, the victim called the authorities. Officers responded to the 1900 block of …

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by Zak Failla
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