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

Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Deputies Named After Shooting Woman Who Pointed Gun During Welfare Check In Lexington Park Deputies Named After Shooting Woman Who Pointed Gun During Welfare Check In Lexington Park Deputies Named After Shooting Woman Who Pointed Gun During Welfare Check In Lexington Park
Deputies Named After Shooting Woman Who Pointed Gun During Welfare Check In Lexington Park New details have been released after a 34-year-old woman was shot by sheriff's deputies after pointing a gun during a welfare check in Southern Maryland, officials say. Deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office were called shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23 to a Lexington Park home after a man told authorities that his roommate left the home armed with his gun. For more than an hour, deputies canvassed the area before locating 34-year-old Paige Taylor Hartness around 9:11 p.m. sitting in a vehicle parked at MedStar Health on East Run Drive. MedStar Health, 45870…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
WATCH: ICE Take Down Violent El Salvador Fugitive In Arlington After Four Illegal US Entries WATCH: ICE Take Down Violent El Salvador Fugitive In Arlington After Four Illegal US Entries WATCH: ICE Take Down Violent El Salvador Fugitive In Arlington After Four Illegal US Entries
Watch: ICE Take Down Violent El Salvador Fugitive In Arlington After Four Illegal US Entries Federal agents took down a violent repeat offender from El Salvador in Virginia after he illegally entered the US for the fourth time, authorities said. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that Carlos Ramirez-Guzman was arrested on Oct. 17 in Arlington. Ramirez-Guzman, a citizen of El Salvador, has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer and domestic battery, according to ICE.  Officials said the operation was carried out with assistance from the FBI and the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). …

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Man Armed With Boxcutter Tased After Violent Metro Meltdown In Arlington, Police Say Man Armed With Boxcutter Tased After Violent Metro Meltdown In Arlington, Police Say Man Armed With Boxcutter Tased After Violent Metro Meltdown In Arlington, Police Say
Man Armed With Boxcutter Tased After Violent Metro Meltdown In Arlington, Police Say Commuters got more than a scare on their Saturday morning ride in Virginia when police say a man armed with a boxcutter went on a violent outburst inside a Metro station — ignoring officers’ commands before being tased and taken down. The chaos unfolded around 6:52 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Ballston-MU Metro Station in the 4200 block of Fairfax Drive in Arlington, according to the police department. Officers were dispatched after reports of a “disorderly individual throwing items at people” inside the station.  A lookout was broadcast, and an officer soon spotted the suspect —…

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
Waldorf Man Who Confessed To Mom After Shooting Wife In Bed Faces Life Behind Bars Waldorf Man Who Confessed To Mom After Shooting Wife In Bed Faces Life Behind Bars Waldorf Man Who Confessed To Mom After Shooting Wife In Bed Faces Life Behind Bars
Waldorf Man Who Confessed To Mom After Shooting Wife In Bed Faces Life Behind Bars A Maryland man who directed detectives to the home where he killed his wife may spend the rest of his life in prison. Travis Edward Paschal Wood, 36, has been convicted of murder in connection with the 2022 shooting death of his wife, Shawnda Nicole Wood, the Charles County State’s Attorney’s Office announced Monday, Oct. 27. On Dec. 9, 2022, Wood and his cousin walked into the Charles County Sheriff's Office in Waldorf to request a welfare check at his home. Prosecutors said that Wood told an investigator that he had been suicidal the night before, requested a welfare check, and asked for…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Frederick Townhome Collapses In Fierce Overnight Fire, 9 Displaced (PHOTOS) Frederick Townhome Collapses In Fierce Overnight Fire, 9 Displaced (PHOTOS) Frederick Townhome Collapses In Fierce Overnight Fire, 9 Displaced (PHOTOS)
Frederick Townhome Collapses In Fierce Overnight Fire, 9 Displaced (Photos) A Maryland townhouse exploded into a wall of flames early Sunday, collapsing within minutes as firefighters fought to keep the inferno from spreading through the row. Crews were called to the 1600 block of Jennings Court around 12:51 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 26, Frederick County Fire and Rescue officials said.  Frederick County Fire and Rescue When firefighters arrived, flames were shooting from the middle-of-the-row townhouse, prompting command to call a second alarm as smoke poured into adjoining units. Frederick County Fire and Rescue Within minutes, the back of the building gave w…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Man Dead, Woman Critical After Deputies Hear Gunshot Inside Spotsylvania Home, Sheriff Says Man Dead, Woman Critical After Deputies Hear Gunshot Inside Spotsylvania Home, Sheriff Says Man Dead, Woman Critical After Deputies Hear Gunshot Inside Spotsylvania Home, Sheriff Says
Man Dead, Woman Critical After Deputies Hear Gunshot Inside Spotsylvania Home, Sheriff Says New details have been released by the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office after a man was killed and a woman critically injured in a double shooting over the weekend. Shortly after 10:15 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 26, deputies were called to conduct a welfare check in the 9800 block of Fendale Lane, according to officials. Upon arrival, deputies attempted to make contact at the home and heard a single gunshot, investigators said.  They then established a perimeter around the home until a SWAT team from the sheriff's office arrived to breach the residence. Inside, they found a 71-year-old man and…

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by Zak Failla
Aldie, VA
On Your Side
$2M Powerball Winner Bought Ticket At Virginia Wawa — Check Your Numbers $2M Powerball Winner Bought Ticket At Virginia Wawa — Check Your Numbers $2M Powerball Winner Bought Ticket At Virginia Wawa — Check Your Numbers
$2M Powerball Winner Bought Ticket At Virginia Wawa — Check Your Numbers Someone in Virginia just turned a Wawa run into $2 million. The lucky ticket was sold at the Wawa at 7316 Forest Hill Ave. in Richmond, according to the Virginia Lottery.  It matched the first five numbers in Saturday night’s (Oct. 25) Powerball drawing — 2, 12, 22, 39, and 67 — missing only the Powerball number, 15. Normally, that combo would score a $1 million prize.  But whoever bought this ticket spent an extra dollar on the Power Play, which doubled the winnings to a whopping $2 million. This was the only ticket in Virginia to match the first five numbers and one of just t…

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by Zak Failla
Indian Head-Nanjemoy, MD
Breaking News
Nanjemoy Man Faces Nearly 1,500 Years Behind Bars After Child Porn Conviction Nanjemoy Man Faces Nearly 1,500 Years Behind Bars After Child Porn Conviction Nanjemoy Man Faces Nearly 1,500 Years Behind Bars After Child Porn Conviction
Nanjemoy Man Faces Nearly 1,500 Years Behind Bars After Child Porn Conviction A 66-year-old Maryland man is facing nearly 1,500 years in prison after being found guilty of hundreds of child porn offenses, authorities announced. Nanjemoy native Dennis Demoine Smith was convicted following a three-day trial of 28 counts of use of a computer to depict minors in a sexual act and 237 counts of possession of child pornography, according to the Charles County State's Attorney's Office. Prosecutors say that between January and April 2023, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office received 14 cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). …

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by Zak Failla
Rockville, MD
Breaking News
Cocaine, Cash, Cannabis: Massive Rockville Drug Bust Nets Over 2,700 Grams Of Coke, Police Say Cocaine, Cash, Cannabis: Massive Rockville Drug Bust Nets Over 2,700 Grams Of Coke, Police Say Cocaine, Cash, Cannabis: Massive Rockville Drug Bust Nets Over 2,700 Grams Of Coke, Police Say
Cocaine, Cash, Cannabis: Massive Rockville Drug Bust Nets Over 2,700 Grams Of Coke, Police Say A months-long investigation into an alleged drug dealer led to a massive seizure in Montgomery County, authorities announced. Rockville resident Elijah Bell, 33, is behind bars following an investigation into drug distribution in the area, police said. According to the Montgomery County Department of Police, last week, detectives executed multiple search warrants "as part of a months-long investigation into Bell’s suspected drug distribution activities." During the search, officers recovered approximately 2,726 grams of cocaine, nearly 10 pounds of cannabis, two handguns, and roughly …

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Masked Woodbridge Man Fired Shots Into Air, Then Banged On Stranger’s Door: Police Masked Woodbridge Man Fired Shots Into Air, Then Banged On Stranger’s Door: Police Masked Woodbridge Man Fired Shots Into Air, Then Banged On Stranger’s Door: Police
Masked Woodbridge Man Fired Shots Into Air, Then Banged On Stranger’s Door: Police A Virginia neighborhood was upended when a masked man allegedly fired several shots into the air, then showed up banging on a stranger's front door, police said. Woodbridge resident Jorge Anthony Sandoval, 27, was arrested after a Saturday morning incident in Prince William County that police say began when he fired several shots into the air and later showed up masked at a nearby home. Officers were called around 10:04 a.m. to the 15000 block of Illinois Road in Woodbridge for reports of gunshots in the area, according to police.  Witnesses told officers that someone inside a dark-co…

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by Zak Failla
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