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

Edgewater-Mayo, MD
Breaking News
Edgewater Woman, 76, Found Dead In Home; Police Say Live-In Boyfriend, 78, Killed Her Edgewater Woman, 76, Found Dead In Home; Police Say Live-In Boyfriend, 78, Killed Her Edgewater Woman, 76, Found Dead In Home; Police Say Live-In Boyfriend, 78, Killed Her
Edgewater Woman, 76, Found Dead In Home; Police Say Live-In Boyfriend, 78, Killed Her A Virginia neighborhood woke up to a chilling scene Thursday morning when police say a 76-year-old woman was found dead inside the home she shared with her longtime boyfriend, who is now charged with her murder. Officers were called around 8 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11, to a residence in the 400 block of Linden Avenue in Edgewater for a report of an unresponsive woman, Anne Arundel County Police said. Upon arrival, officers found Johanna Gibbs suffering from "apparent trauma to her body." She was pronounced dead at the scene by fire personnel.  Detectives from the Homicide Unit immediat…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Fredericksburg Police Searching For Fugitive Accused Of Raping Child Eight Years Ago Fredericksburg Police Searching For Fugitive Accused Of Raping Child Eight Years Ago Fredericksburg Police Searching For Fugitive Accused Of Raping Child Eight Years Ago
Fredericksburg Police Searching For Fugitive Accused Of Raping Child Eight Years Ago Police in Virginia are searching for a man accused of raping a child eight years ago — a case detectives say they were able to corroborate after a woman came forward last week. On Thursday, Dec. 4, a woman reported an alleged sexual assault to the Fredericksburg Police Department that happened when she was 12 years old.  The case was assigned to a detective, who was able to confirm evidence provided by the victim, which identified Fredericksburg resident David Jackson as the likely sexual assault suspect. According to police, Jackson is now wanted on a felony warrant charging him with…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Firefighter Loses Home In Devastating Blaze Days Before Holidays Virginia Firefighter Loses Home In Devastating Blaze Days Before Holidays Virginia Firefighter Loses Home In Devastating Blaze Days Before Holidays
Virginia Firefighter Loses Home In Devastating Blaze Days Before Holidays A Virginia firefighter who has spent years running into burning homes to save strangers watched his own go up in flames this week, leaving him and his three kids with nothing days before the holidays. The fire tore through Doug Dempsey’s home before dawn on Tuesday, Dec. 9, collapsing walls, charring every room, and leaving only a skeletal frame standing in the quiet stretch of woods behind it.  Dempsey got out with the family dogs. His children — Aren, 21, Dana, 18, and Marie, 13 — were away visiting family, loved ones said. A GoFundMe created by a family friend captured the gut punc…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Pedestrian Killed In Pre-Dawn Hit-Run Crash In Woodbridge As Driver Speeds Off, Police Say Pedestrian Killed In Pre-Dawn Hit-Run Crash In Woodbridge As Driver Speeds Off, Police Say Pedestrian Killed In Pre-Dawn Hit-Run Crash In Woodbridge As Driver Speeds Off, Police Say
Pedestrian Killed In Pre-Dawn Hit-Run Crash In Woodbridge As Driver Speeds Off, Police Say A man was struck and killed in a hit-and-run before sunrise in Virginia on Thursday morning, and investigators say the driver never stopped. A 68-year-old man died after being hit by a vehicle that fled the scene in Woodbridge early Thursday, Dec. 11, according to Prince William County Police. Officers were called at 6:09 a.m. to Cardinal Drive and Donald Curtis Drive after several people phoned 911 to report a man lying in the roadway, police said. When officers arrived, they found the victim — identified as Shedrick Eugene Gibson, 68, of no fixed address — unresponsive.  Officers b…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Kidnap Suspect Blows Light, Hits Car, Drives On Rims In Insane Multi-County Pursuit: FCSO Kidnap Suspect Blows Light, Hits Car, Drives On Rims In Insane Multi-County Pursuit: FCSO Kidnap Suspect Blows Light, Hits Car, Drives On Rims In Insane Multi-County Pursuit: FCSO
Kidnap Suspect Blows Light, Hits Car, Drives On Rims In Insane Multi-County Pursuit: Fcso A Maryland kidnapper took deputies on a wild, multi-county chase that pushed police, and his vehicle, to the limit, authorities say. Williamsport resident Suba Washington Jr., 27, was taken into custody after attempting to avoid his arrest by blowing past a traffic light, and through stop sticks before getting boxed in on the highway, according to the Frederick County Sheriff's Office. The long night for law enforcement in northern Maryland began around 12:15 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11, when members of the sheriff's office attempted a traffic stop in the 7300 block of Crestwood Boulevard in …

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by Zak Failla
Elkton, MD
Breaking News
5-Week-Old Found Dead With Trauma; Charlestown Mom Charged With Murder: State Police 5-Week-Old Found Dead With Trauma; Charlestown Mom Charged With Murder: State Police 5-Week-Old Found Dead With Trauma; Charlestown Mom Charged With Murder: State Police
5-Week-Old Found Dead With Trauma; Charlestown Mom Charged With Murder: State Police A Maryland mother whose newborn daughter was found dead with traumatic injuries is facing murder and other charges, according to state police. Destiny Faith Chiveral, 24, was arrested overnight at her Charlestown home in Cecil County and charged in connection with the death of her 5-week-old daughter, authorities announced. Shortly after 9 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4, police and paramedics rushed to a home in the unit block of Leedle Circle in Rising Sun, where they found the newborn suffering from injuries. She was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders. An autopsy was conducted, a…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
‘Transnational’ Cocaine Operation Into Virginia Earns Man Lengthy Prison Term: DOJ ‘Transnational’ Cocaine Operation Into Virginia Earns Man Lengthy Prison Term: DOJ ‘Transnational’ Cocaine Operation Into Virginia Earns Man Lengthy Prison Term: DOJ
‘Transnational’ Cocaine Operation Into Virginia Earns Man Lengthy Prison Term: DOJ A North Carolina man running a coast-to-coast cocaine pipeline into Virginia will spend the next ten years in federal prison. Kareem Akeem McMurrin, 41, was sentenced this week after admitting he conspired to ship 10 kilograms of cocaine from San Diego to Portsmouth, according to federal authorities. Prosecutors didn’t mince their words about the scale of the operation. “McMurrin’s conduct was inherently dangerous and damaging on a transnational scale,” US Attorney Lindsey Halligan said. “He attempted to contribute to the success of a dangerous and larger enterprise.  "This administr…

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by Zak Failla
Allentown, PA
Your Community
T.J. Watt Hospitalized With Lung Ailment, Status For Steelers-Dolphins MNF Game Uncertain T.J. Watt Hospitalized With Lung Ailment, Status For Steelers-Dolphins MNF Game Uncertain T.J. Watt Hospitalized With Lung Ailment, Status For Steelers-Dolphins MNF Game Uncertain
T.J. Watt Hospitalized With Lung Ailment, Status For Steelers-Dolphins MNF Game Uncertain Star Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt has been taken to the hospital for an unspecified lung ailment, the team confirmed on Thursday afternoon. According to reports, Watt, 31, began suffering discomfort at the team's practice facility on Wednesday, knocking him out of Thursday's practice and putting his status for Monday's game against the Miami Dolphins into question. "Watt is currently in a local hospital for further medical evaluation after experiencing discomfort at the facility on Wednesday," Steelers Communications Director Burt Lauten said.  Update on #Steelers LB T…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Obituaries
Virginia Little League Rocked By Sudden Death Of Challenger Coach, 31: 'He Was A Bright Spark' Virginia Little League Rocked By Sudden Death Of Challenger Coach, 31: 'He Was A Bright Spark' Virginia Little League Rocked By Sudden Death Of Challenger Coach, 31: 'He Was A Bright Spark'
Virginia Little League Rocked By Sudden Death Of Challenger Coach, 31: 'He Was A Bright Spark' Garrett Currence spent seven years on the Challenger Little League fields making sure every kid felt like an all-star in Virginia.  Now, a community of families, coaches, and players is grieving the sudden loss of the young man who poured himself into theirs. Currence — a Challenger coach, board member, and familiar face at ballfields across Newport News and Hampton — died unexpectedly on Monday, Dec. 8, at just 31 years old.  His family said he passed while “anxiously awaiting a kidney transplant” after two years of ongoing medical complications. It’s a loss that rippled immedi…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
Former Virginia Youth Pastor Hunted Teens On TikTok Before Targeting 15-Year-Old, Feds Say Former Virginia Youth Pastor Hunted Teens On TikTok Before Targeting 15-Year-Old, Feds Say Former Virginia Youth Pastor Hunted Teens On TikTok Before Targeting 15-Year-Old, Feds Say
Former Virginia Youth Pastor Hunted Teens On TikTok Before Targeting 15-Year-Old, Feds Say A former youth pastor in Virginia who "prowled" social media sites trolling for vulnerable underage victims will spend years behind bars, federal authorities announced. Catawba resident Jacob Ryan Barnett, 34, pleaded guilty this week to his attempted coercion and enticement of a 15-year-old girl he sparked a "relationship" with on TikTok, officials say. On Sunday, May 18, prosecutors say that Barnett used the social media app to message "M.V.," and they began chatting. The two then started exchanging texts that got increasingly inappropriate.  According to court documents, to keep the tee…

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by Zak Failla
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