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

Leesburg, VA
Breaking News
Infant Dies After Family Member’s Strangulation In Leesburg; ICE Hold Filed On Suspect: Police Infant Dies After Family Member’s Strangulation In Leesburg; ICE Hold Filed On Suspect: Police Infant Dies After Family Member’s Strangulation In Leesburg; ICE Hold Filed On Suspect: Police
Infant Dies After Family Member’s Strangulation In Leesburg; ICE Hold Filed On Suspect: Police The 8-month-old infant who was strangled by a family member in Virginia died shortly after midnight on Tuesday, Sept. 23, Leesburg Police Chief Thea Pirnat confirmed. At around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17, officers were called to the unit block of Hancock Place NE for a report of a child not breathing. The infant was taken to an area hospital and listed in critical condition after investigators said the child was the victim of an assault. She died shortly after midnight on Tuesday, Sept. 23, officials said. "It is with profound sadness that I must announce the infant victim in this cas…

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by Zak Failla
Stafford, VA
Breaking News
Stafford DUI Suspect Botches ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ Sobriety Test, Sheriff Says Stafford DUI Suspect Botches ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ Sobriety Test, Sheriff Says Stafford DUI Suspect Botches ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ Sobriety Test, Sheriff Says
Stafford DUI Suspect Botches ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ Sobriety Test, Sheriff Says A Virginia woman who plowed her pickup into a telephone pole tried to prove she wasn’t drunk by reciting "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." Spoiler: it did not work. Deputies with the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office responded just after 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, to Harrell Road and Forbes Street after multiple callers reported a Ford F-150 off the road and into a pole. When deputies first arrived, they found the truck in a ditch and the driver insisting she was fine. “I’m just a bad driver,” she told deputies. Stafford County Sheriff But the signs were obvious, according to deput…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Methadone, Xanax, Guns Seized After Route 50 Traffic Stop In Maryland: State Police Methadone, Xanax, Guns Seized After Route 50 Traffic Stop In Maryland: State Police Methadone, Xanax, Guns Seized After Route 50 Traffic Stop In Maryland: State Police
Methadone, Xanax, Guns Seized After Route 50 Traffic Stop In Maryland: State Police A Maryland traffic stop turned into a major bust after troopers found two loaded guns and drugs inside a pickup, police said. Maryland State Police said they arrested William Stephen Lanham Jr., 40, of Salisbury on Saturday, Sept. 20, after pulling him over in Talbot County. Shortly after 8 p.m., a trooper from the Easton Barrack stopped a Chevrolet pickup truck on U.S. Route 50 near Lomax Street for suspected impaired driving. While conducting the stop, police said the trooper “observed multiple criminal indicators” — and the search turned up two loaded firearms along with suspected metha…

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by Zak Failla
North Bethesda, MD
Obituaries
Asong Fontava, 29, Remembered For His Faith After Fatal North Bethesda Shooting Asong Fontava, 29, Remembered For His Faith After Fatal North Bethesda Shooting Asong Fontava, 29, Remembered For His Faith After Fatal North Bethesda Shooting
Asong Fontava, 29, Remembered For His Faith After Fatal North Bethesda Shooting Asong Fontava is being remembered as a loving brother and family member whose "life was taken too soon" when he was shot and killed in his Maryland apartment. Fontava was identified as the 29-year-old man who was shot and killed in North Bethesda during a deadly kidnapping in Montgomery County. Officers from the Montgomery County Department of Police were called around 7:40 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21 to the 5900 block of Montrose Road for a reported medical emergency.  Inside, first responders found Fontava suffering from a fatal gunshot wound.  He was pronounced dead at the scene…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Potomac Mills Mall Flasher With Skateboard Wanted After Exposing Himself To Employees: Police Potomac Mills Mall Flasher With Skateboard Wanted After Exposing Himself To Employees: Police Potomac Mills Mall Flasher With Skateboard Wanted After Exposing Himself To Employees: Police
Potomac Mills Mall Flasher With Skateboard Wanted After Exposing Himself To Employees: Police A skateboard-toting man is wanted after exposing himself inside a busy Northern Virginia department store, police said. Officers responded shortly before 6 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 22 to Nordstrom Rack at the Potomac Mills Mall in Woodbridge, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Investigators said an unknown man was seen exposing himself inside the store, and at one point approached an employee.  That employee alerted a male staff member, who confronted the man. He then ran off without further incident. The flasher was described as a white man who was wearing a blac…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
1,000+ Grams Of Cocaine, Fentanyl Seized In Baltimore Drug Lab Raid: Police 1,000+ Grams Of Cocaine, Fentanyl Seized In Baltimore Drug Lab Raid: Police 1,000+ Grams Of Cocaine, Fentanyl Seized In Baltimore Drug Lab Raid: Police
1,000+ Grams Of Cocaine, Fentanyl Seized In Baltimore Drug Lab Raid: Police Baltimore Police just put a major dent in a drug pipeline — and the photos look like something out of The Wire. Investigators with the Group Violence Enforcement Team launched a probe in early September after violent crime spiked in Southwest, Western, and Southern Baltimore, officials said.  Detectives tracked suspects traveling to Delaware to haul controlled dangerous substances back into the city, according to the Baltimore Police Department. On Wednesday, Sept. 17, a coordinated vehicle stop on the Delaware Turnpike with help from Delaware State Police led to a massive seizure tha…

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by Zak Failla
Nottingham-Perry Hall, MD
Breaking News
Boiler Blast Rocks Perry Hall Police Precinct, Worker Rushed To Hospital (DEVELOPING) Boiler Blast Rocks Perry Hall Police Precinct, Worker Rushed To Hospital (DEVELOPING) Boiler Blast Rocks Perry Hall Police Precinct, Worker Rushed To Hospital (DEVELOPING)
Boiler Blast Rocks Perry Hall Police Precinct, Worker Rushed To Hospital (Developing) A worker was injured in Baltimore County when a boiler he was working on inside a Perry Hall police precinct exploded, officials say. Shortly before 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 23, crews from the Baltimore County Fire Department were called to a reported explosion at Precinct 9 in the 8200 block of Perry Hall Boulevard. According to the agency, a county employee was injured while working on a boiler inside the building. He was taken to Bayview Hospital with what were described as "non-critical injuries."  "Out of caution, the incident commander requested a building engineer to evaluate …

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by Zak Failla
Triangle-Dumfries, VA
Breaking News
Dumfries Mall Creeper Wanted After Obscene Sexual Displays At Potomac Mills: Police Dumfries Mall Creeper Wanted After Obscene Sexual Displays At Potomac Mills: Police Dumfries Mall Creeper Wanted After Obscene Sexual Displays At Potomac Mills: Police
Dumfries Mall Creeper Wanted After Obscene Sexual Displays At Potomac Mills: Police A Virginia man is wanted after police say he repeatedly approached women working at Potomac Mills Mall and made crude gestures. The Prince William County Police Department announced Tuesday, Sept. 23, that officers are searching for Dumfries resident Edwood Christoper Spencer, 48, in connection with multiple incidents earlier this month. Police said that between Thursday, Sept. 4, and Wednesday, Sept. 17, Spencer approached female employees at a kiosk inside the 2700 block of Potomac Mills Circle in Woodbridge. During one encounter, officers said Spencer “made inappropriate gestures toward…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
Man Killed After Disabled Car Smashed By Speeding Driver On I-395 In Alexandria: State Police Man Killed After Disabled Car Smashed By Speeding Driver On I-395 In Alexandria: State Police Man Killed After Disabled Car Smashed By Speeding Driver On I-395 In Alexandria: State Police
Man Killed After Disabled Car Smashed By Speeding Driver On I-395 In Alexandria: State Police A Virginia man was killed when his disabled car was slammed by a speeding driver on I-395, state police said. Virginia State Police said the crash happened around 2:20 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, in the southbound lanes of the interstate in Alexandria, near the three-mile marker. According to investigators, a 2008 Toyota Corolla crashed and became disabled in the roadway.  Moments later, police said, a 2021 Hyundai Venue traveling southbound at a high rate of speed struck the Corolla. The Corolla’s driver, Hennry O. Ortuno Flores, 45, of Springfield, suffered serious injuries and later …

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by Zak Failla
Stafford, VA
Breaking News
‘Pepper Palace’ Standoff: Woman Wanted For Falsely Summoning Police Nabbed In Stafford: Sheriff ‘Pepper Palace’ Standoff: Woman Wanted For Falsely Summoning Police Nabbed In Stafford: Sheriff ‘Pepper Palace’ Standoff: Woman Wanted For Falsely Summoning Police Nabbed In Stafford: Sheriff
‘Pepper Palace’ Standoff: Woman Wanted For Falsely Summoning Police Nabbed In Stafford: Sheriff The irony is real. A woman wanted for falsely summoning police certainly did her best to avoid law enforcement in Stafford County during a standoff that ended with two people in custody. Nathaly Palacios Medina, 33, attempted to evade arrest over the weekend, but ultimately found herself handcuffed following a brief barricade with members of the sheriff's office. Deputies on foot patrol at around 10:45 p.m. on Sept. 19 in Garrison Woods spotted Palacios Medina — who was wanted for three counts of using obscene language by phone and falsely summoning law enforcement — in the kitch…

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by Zak Failla
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