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

Stafford, VA
Breaking News
Massage Spa Burglar Pepper-Sprayed Employees When They Caught Him In Stafford, Sheriff Says Massage Spa Burglar Pepper-Sprayed Employees When They Caught Him In Stafford, Sheriff Says Massage Spa Burglar Pepper-Sprayed Employees When They Caught Him In Stafford, Sheriff Says
Massage Spa Burglar Pepper-Sprayed Employees When They Caught Him In Stafford, Sheriff Says Elijah Thomas Deane's burglary spree came to a fiery end. He did not want to go down quietly. The 22-year-old Spotsylvania resident is facing a host of charges following a string of similar burglaries that came to an end last week, according to the Stafford County Sheriff's Office. Deane's gambit came to an end on Monday, Sept. 21, when deputies were alerted to a robbery in progress at a massage spa on Chatham Heights Road. Investigators say Deane entered the business and was directed to one of the rooms. He then left the room and began entering other rooms and the employee area. Then th…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Your Community
10 Virginia Dogs Escaped Chains, Neglect: Now They Need Somewhere To Call Home 10 Virginia Dogs Escaped Chains, Neglect: Now They Need Somewhere To Call Home 10 Virginia Dogs Escaped Chains, Neglect: Now They Need Somewhere To Call Home
10 Virginia Dogs Escaped Chains, Neglect: Now They Need Somewhere To Call Home For some of them, the good life started with something as simple as coming inside. Ten dogs rescued from chains, outdoor pens, abandonment and neglect in Virginia are now getting that chance, and PETA is looking for families willing to make it permanent. The dogs were brought to PETA's Norfolk headquarters following a weeklong relief effort in and around Galax, where fieldworkers teamed with the Twin County Humane Society. Some had spent much of their lives tethered outside. Others were abandoned or came from homes where their owners could no longer properly care for them. Now they're lea…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
17 Charged After Guns Found In Towson Apartment As Police Hunt Shooting Suspect (DEVELOPING) 17 Charged After Guns Found In Towson Apartment As Police Hunt Shooting Suspect (DEVELOPING) 17 Charged After Guns Found In Towson Apartment As Police Hunt Shooting Suspect (DEVELOPING)
17 Charged After Guns Found In Towson Apartment As Police Hunt Shooting Suspect (Developing) A search for answers after a weekend shooting in Maryland led detectives to an apartment packed with people and guns, police said. Seventeen people are now facing weapons charges after Baltimore County Police searched an apartment in the 8000 block of York Road in Towson as part of the investigation into a shooting on Sunday, Sept. 27. Detectives from the department's Violent Crimes Unit recovered several firearms inside the apartment while executing the search warrant, according to police. That discovery led to charges against 15 adults ranging in age from 18 to 31, along with two teens w…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
NJ Man Brought 100+ Explosives To DC Cathedral Before Red Mass: Now He Knows His Fate NJ Man Brought 100+ Explosives To DC Cathedral Before Red Mass: Now He Knows His Fate NJ Man Brought 100+ Explosives To DC Cathedral Before Red Mass: Now He Knows His Fate
NJ Man Brought 100+ Explosives To DC Cathedral Before Red Mass: Now He Knows His Fate Louis Geri didn't show up to negotiate empty-handed. He had big plans after traveling more than 100 miles from New Jersey to DC with broad ambitions. Nearly a year after the Vineland man turned the steps of a DC cathedral into an explosives cache ahead of the annual Red Mass, Geri was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison. The 42-year-old brought more than 100 homemade explosive devices to St. Matthew's Cathedral in the 1700 block of Rhode Island Avenue NW, where Supreme Court justices and other high-ranking government officials were expected the next morning. The defendant …

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by Zak Failla
Hatboro-Horsham, PA
Breaking News
Man Pulls Knife, Starts Cutting Victim's Clothes Off At Hatsboro McDonald's: Police Man Pulls Knife, Starts Cutting Victim's Clothes Off At Hatsboro McDonald's: Police Man Pulls Knife, Starts Cutting Victim's Clothes Off At Hatsboro McDonald's: Police
Man Pulls Knife, Starts Cutting Victim's Clothes Off At Hatsboro McDonald's: Police Zachary Dantz Jenkins did his best to get away. His best wasn't good enough after a strange encounter at a Pennsylvania McDonald's. Hatboro Police say the trouble started on Thursday, Sept. 10, when Jenkins approached a man sitting inside a vehicle at the McDonald's on North York Road. According to investigators, Jenkins instigated a confrontation, pulled out a knife and began cutting off the man's clothing before fleeing with several associates. The incident was reported two days later, and detectives used interviews and surveillance video to identify Jenkins as the suspect, police said. …

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by Zak Failla
Springfield, VA
Breaking News
Gunman Stands Guard As Crew Swipes $600K In Springfield Jewelry Smash-And-Grab: Police Gunman Stands Guard As Crew Swipes $600K In Springfield Jewelry Smash-And-Grab: Police Gunman Stands Guard As Crew Swipes $600K In Springfield Jewelry Smash-And-Grab: Police
Gunman Stands Guard As Crew Swipes $600K In Springfield Jewelry Smash-And-Grab: Police It was a $600,000 smash-and-grab in the middle of a Sunday afternoon. Four men rolled up to a Northern Virginia jewelry store at around 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 27, broke through the front door and emptied display cases while one of them held an employee at gunpoint, according to Fairfax County Police. The crew arrived at the Brookfield Plaza shopping center in Springfield together in a black Acura sedan. They didn't bother looking for another way in. Investigators say the four shattered the glass front door and rushed inside, where one pulled out a gun and turned his attention to an employee. …

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by Zak Failla
Rockville, MD
Breaking News
Man Who Shot Maryland Rapper 'Lil Xelly' 27 Times In Rockville Sentenced For Double Murder Man Who Shot Maryland Rapper 'Lil Xelly' 27 Times In Rockville Sentenced For Double Murder Man Who Shot Maryland Rapper 'Lil Xelly' 27 Times In Rockville Sentenced For Double Murder
Man Who Shot Maryland Rapper 'Lil Xelly' 27 Times In Rockville Sentenced For Double Murder Kaloyan Stoev will have a lifetime behind bars to reconsider his actions after shooting a Maryland rapper 27 times and killing a woman who tried to flee the assault, authorities announced. The 27-year-old man was sentenced to 120 years in prison on Monday, Sept. 28, in Montgomery County Circuit Court for the murders of Marcell Hebron and Leilani Marroquin. Hebron, 26, was better known by his rap name, "Lil Xelly." Marroquin was 27. The sentence comes five months after a jury convicted Stoev of both murders following a four-day trial. An officer from Montgomery County Police spotted a whit…

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by Zak Failla
Hyattsville, MD
Breaking News
For Three Years, Hyattsville Metro Murder Had No Suspect: Police Say That Just Changed For Three Years, Hyattsville Metro Murder Had No Suspect: Police Say That Just Changed For Three Years, Hyattsville Metro Murder Had No Suspect: Police Say That Just Changed
For Three Years, Hyattsville Metro Murder Had No Suspect: Police Say That Just Changed Three years later, detectives say they finally know who killed Avrell Milam. The break in the Maryland murder case led investigators to Washington, DC, where a 67-year-old man was arrested this month in connection with the fatal 2023 stabbing, according to the Prince George's County Police Department. Kevin Warbington, who has no fixed address, is accused of killing Milam, 33, whose body was found outside near the Hyattsville Crossing Metro station in the early-morning hours of Aug. 30, 2023. Milam had also been living without a fixed address. Hyattsville Police officers were called to th…

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by Zak Failla
Elkridge, MD
Breaking News
Elkridge Teen Sentenced In Murder Of Maryland Senior Who Grabbed Armed Robber's Gun Elkridge Teen Sentenced In Murder Of Maryland Senior Who Grabbed Armed Robber's Gun Elkridge Teen Sentenced In Murder Of Maryland Senior Who Grabbed Armed Robber's Gun
Elkridge Teen Sentenced In Murder Of Maryland Senior Who Grabbed Armed Robber's Gun A Maryland high school senior was killed fighting back against a group of masked gunmen who tried to rob him and a friend near a trail last year. Now, two 18-year-olds will spend decades in prison for the murder of Jonathan Benjamin Guiliani, who was shot and killed near the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail in Glen Burnie on May 4, 2025. Mekhi Andrew Duncan, of Baltimore, was sentenced on Monday, Sept. 28, to life in prison with all but 35 years suspended after pleading guilty to first-degree felony murder in July, according to the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office. Mactouko Jun…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
No Socks, No Time: Manassas Biker Hits 72 MPH Trying To Make McDonald's Breakfast (VIDEO) No Socks, No Time: Manassas Biker Hits 72 MPH Trying To Make McDonald's Breakfast (VIDEO) No Socks, No Time: Manassas Biker Hits 72 MPH Trying To Make McDonald's Breakfast (VIDEO)
No Socks, No Time: Manassas Biker Hits 72 MPH Trying To Make McDonald's Breakfast (Video) The McMuffin could not wait. Nothing was going to stand between a motorcyclist and his McDonald's breakfast. Neither the speed limit nor socks. The Manassas Police Department shared a video of a reckless driver who was clocked doing 72 by an officer on patrol in the area of a recent crash. "I was going a little quick, wasn't I?" the driver immediately said to the officer. "I was trying to hit the McDonald's breakfast. I know I was cutting it close. I don't even have socks on. I was rushing. I woke up late."  The officer proceeded to print out what the motorcyclist described as a "…

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by Zak Failla
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