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

Frederick, MD
Breaking News
$100K+ Drug Bust Near Oakdale High School Ends With Dealer Behind Bars: Police $100K+ Drug Bust Near Oakdale High School Ends With Dealer Behind Bars: Police $100K+ Drug Bust Near Oakdale High School Ends With Dealer Behind Bars: Police
$100K+ Drug Bust Near Oakdale High School Ends With Dealer Behind Bars: Police More than $100,000 worth of drugs are off the street after a massive bust not far from a Maryland high school, authorities announced. Ijamsville resident Glenn Aaron Wells, also known as "G," is being held behind bars after investigators from the Frederick Police Department seized a veritable pharmacy from a home within 1,000 feet of Oakdale High School.  In October 2025, police say that an extensive investigation was launched, which determined that Wells was allegedly involved in the illegal distribution of multiple controlled dangerous substances (CDS), including cocaine and cra…

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by Zak Failla
Hagerstown, MD
Breaking News
Hagerstown Sex Offender Caught Traveling To VA To Meet Teen For Sex At Taco Bell Sentenced Hagerstown Sex Offender Caught Traveling To VA To Meet Teen For Sex At Taco Bell Sentenced Hagerstown Sex Offender Caught Traveling To VA To Meet Teen For Sex At Taco Bell Sentenced
Hagerstown Sex Offender Caught Traveling To VA To Meet Teen For Sex At Taco Bell Sentenced A Maryland man who traveled across state lines to meet with someone he believed was a 14-year-old boy at a Virginia fast-food joint was left empty-handed and in handcuffs. Now, he's heading to prison. Hagerstown resident Johnny Daniel Duran, 47, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison after preying on minors on social media and planning to meet one for sex in Loudoun County, federal authorities announced. According to court documents, on April 23, 2025, Duran — who was required to register as a sex offender for distribution of child pornography — used a social media messaging app to …

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by Zak Failla
Triangle-Dumfries, VA
Breaking News
Prince William County Cop Hospitalized After Suspect Bites Him During Dumfries Arrest: Police Prince William County Cop Hospitalized After Suspect Bites Him During Dumfries Arrest: Police Prince William County Cop Hospitalized After Suspect Bites Him During Dumfries Arrest: Police
Prince William County Cop Hospitalized After Suspect Bites Him During Dumfries Arrest: Police An officer in Virginia was hospitalized after being bitten while trying to arrest a wanted man who turned violent inside a business, police said. Officers were called shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 5, when Millyard Nega Marufe, 35, who was "a known wanted individual," walked into a business while under the influence, according to the Prince William County Police Department. When officers attempted to detain Marufe, he became combative, striking one officer in the face and biting another officer on the forearm, police said. The officer who was bitten had to be taken to the hosp…

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by Zak Failla
Parkville-Carney, MD
Breaking News
4-Year-Old Child Pulled From Parkville Townhome Fire Dies At Hospital, Man Critical (UPDATED) 4-Year-Old Child Pulled From Parkville Townhome Fire Dies At Hospital, Man Critical (UPDATED) 4-Year-Old Child Pulled From Parkville Townhome Fire Dies At Hospital, Man Critical (UPDATED)
4-Year-Old Child Pulled From Parkville Townhome Fire Dies At Hospital, Man Critical (Updated) A 4-year-old child died after firefighters rushed into a smoke-filled Maryland townhome late Tuesday night to rescue two people trapped inside, officials confirmed. Crews were dispatched to a townhome in the 100 block of Comet Court in Parkville around 10:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 6, after reports of a house fire, according to the Baltimore County Fire Department. When firefighters arrived, they found smoke coming from the first floor and were told two occupants were still inside the townhome. Crews immediately began a search and located an adult and a child on the second floor, both in card…

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by Zak Failla
Sterling, VA
Breaking News
Maryland Man Who Ran Car Theft Ring Out Of Reagan, BWI Airport Parking Lots Sentenced: Feds Maryland Man Who Ran Car Theft Ring Out Of Reagan, BWI Airport Parking Lots Sentenced: Feds Maryland Man Who Ran Car Theft Ring Out Of Reagan, BWI Airport Parking Lots Sentenced: Feds
Maryland Man Who Ran Car Theft Ring Out Of Reagan, BWI Airport Parking Lots Sentenced: Feds A Maryland man who treated airport parking lots like his own dealership — even after getting arrested and tossed in jail — before federal prosecutors shut him down. Tyrese McKinnon, 25, of Temple Hills, was sentenced to three years and one month in prison after conspiring to steal vehicles from parking facilities at Ronald Reagan National Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, court records show. Prosecutors said McKinnon and a co-conspirator hit the airport lots at least six times between Jan. 4, 2023, and April 5, 2024, stealing vehicles and hauling them…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Frederick Teens Who Pistol-Whipped Man During Armed Robbery Charged As Adults, Sheriff Says Frederick Teens Who Pistol-Whipped Man During Armed Robbery Charged As Adults, Sheriff Says Frederick Teens Who Pistol-Whipped Man During Armed Robbery Charged As Adults, Sheriff Says
Frederick Teens Who Pistol-Whipped Man During Armed Robbery Charged As Adults, Sheriff Says Two Maryland teens are being charged as adults, months after a violent armed robbery, the Frederick County Sheriff's Office announced. Albert Osmany Cambara and Gerardo Isaac Cervantes, both 17, are facing a host of charges following an alleged incident that was reported in September 2025, prompting a lengthy investigation. According to the sheriff's office, on Sept. 27, 2025, deputies responded to the 5500 block of Foxhall Court for a reported armed robbery. During the investigation, deputies learned that a handgun was used in the robbery and that a victim was struck in the face with …

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by Zak Failla
Parkville-Carney, MD
Breaking News
Young Girl, Man Pulled From Burning Parkville Townhome In Late-Night Fire Young Girl, Man Pulled From Burning Parkville Townhome In Late-Night Fire Young Girl, Man Pulled From Burning Parkville Townhome In Late-Night Fire
Young Girl, Man Pulled From Burning Parkville Townhome In Late-Night Fire Firefighters rushed into a burning Maryland townhome late Tuesday night and pulled a young girl and a man to safety, officials said, leaving both victims in critical condition. Crews were sent to the 100 block of Comet Court in Parkville around 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 6, for a townhouse fire with people trapped inside, the Baltimore County Fire Department said. Firefighters made entry and rescued two people from the home — a young girl and a man — before rushing them to area hospitals, fire officials said. Both victims were listed in critical condition as of Wednesday morning. The fir…

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by Zak Failla
Annandale, VA
Breaking News
Pedestrian Fighting For Life After Hit-Run Crash In Annandale, Police Say Pedestrian Fighting For Life After Hit-Run Crash In Annandale, Police Say Pedestrian Fighting For Life After Hit-Run Crash In Annandale, Police Say
Pedestrian Fighting For Life After Hit-Run Crash In Annandale, Police Say A man is fighting for his life after being struck by a hit-and-run driver at a busy Virginia intersection Tuesday morning. Officers were called to Little River Turnpike and Wakefield Chapel Road in Annandale just after 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7, where they found a pedestrian who had been hit by a vehicle whose driver took off, Fairfax County Police said. The man was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said. Investigators said the driver fled the scene in a dark-colored sedan, leaving the victim behind. Crash Reconstruction Unit detectives were sent to the scene a…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Five Years Later, Jan. 6 Riot Still Haunts Capitol Officer Who Says Attack Cost Him His Career Five Years Later, Jan. 6 Riot Still Haunts Capitol Officer Who Says Attack Cost Him His Career Five Years Later, Jan. 6 Riot Still Haunts Capitol Officer Who Says Attack Cost Him His Career
Five Years Later, Jan. 6 Riot Still Haunts Capitol Officer Who Says Attack Cost Him His Career Five years after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell says the violence that day never really ended for him. Gonell, a Dominican-American former sergeant with the United States Capitol Police, reflected this week on the lasting toll of the riot, saying the attack left him without his career, struggling financially, and still fighting for accountability. “In the aftermath of January 6 and my congressional hearing, I tried to hold those who assaulted me accountable in court,” Gonell said in a public statement marking the five-year anniversary. …

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by Zak Failla
Wheaton-Glenmont, MD
Breaking News
Convicted Child Predator Deported After Serving 18 Months Of 25-Year Sentence In Maryland: ICE Convicted Child Predator Deported After Serving 18 Months Of 25-Year Sentence In Maryland: ICE Convicted Child Predator Deported After Serving 18 Months Of 25-Year Sentence In Maryland: ICE
Convicted Child Predator Deported After Serving 18 Months Of 25-Year Sentence In Maryland: ICE A convicted child predator from Honduras has been removed from the US after serving just 18 months of a 25-year sentence for sexually abusing a child, federal officials said. ICE Baltimore announced that Josue Munoz-Nunez, a criminal illegal alien from Honduras, was arrested and removed after his conviction for sexually abusing a child in Montgomery County in 2022, the agency confirmed on Tuesday, Jan. 6. The removal was carried out by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Baltimore Field Office, according to the agency. Federal officials did not release additional details about the vic…

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by Zak Failla
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