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Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

zfailla@dailyvoice.com

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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

Police & Fire
Convicted Sex Offender In Maryland Transferred To ICE For Removal To Honduras: Officials Convicted Sex Offender In Maryland Transferred To ICE For Removal To Honduras: Officials
Convicted Sex Offender In Maryland Transferred To ICE For Removal To Honduras: Officials A convicted sex offender in Maryland is now in the custody of federal immigration officials after serving part of a 10-year sentence, ICE announced. Kelvin Emanuel Granados-Sorto, 30, a Honduran national who entered the US illegally, was arrested by ICE on Thursday, April 11, after being transferred from the Maryland Department of Corrections, according to federal officials. Granados-Sorto was convicted in Prince George’s County on May 12, 2023, of a third-degree sex offense. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. ICE lodged a detainer on him two months later, in July 2023. Federal offici…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Pedestrian, 19, Killed By DWI Driver In Alexandria Hit-Run Crash: Police Pedestrian, 19, Killed By DWI Driver In Alexandria Hit-Run Crash: Police
Pedestrian, 19, Killed By DWI Driver In Alexandria Hit-Run Crash: Police A 19-year-old was killed and a driver is in custody following a DWI crash that sent shockwaves through a busy Virginia neighborhood, police said. Abdullahi Mumin died after being hit by a driver along the 4700 block of King Street on Wednesday night, April 16, according to the Alexandria Police Department. Officers were called around 8:38 p.m. for a report of a crash involving a pedestrian and arrived to find Mumin critically injured alongside a downed electrical pole, authorities said.  He was rushed to the hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries. The driver, identified a…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Vandals Break Into Virginia Zoo, Trash Exhibits, Terrify Animals With Joyride (VIDEO) Vandals Break Into Virginia Zoo, Trash Exhibits, Terrify Animals With Joyride (VIDEO)
Vandals Break Into Virginia Zoo, Trash Exhibits, Terrify Animals With Joyride (Video) A pack of late-night vandals broke into a Northern Virginia zoo, damaged animal enclosures, and took work vehicles for a joyride — all while terrifying the animals, officials said. The chaos unfolded overnight on Tuesday, April 15, at the NOVA Wild Zoo, a popular family destination in Fairfax County. According to zoo management, several people forced their way into the park, caused damage to multiple exhibits, and even got into the capybara enclosure. The intruders then took work vehicles and rode recklessly through the property. Staff returned to find the aftermath — broken fencing, trash…

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by Zak Failla
News
Cop Who Flagged Deported Dad For Gang Ties Was Later Fired For Misconduct: Police Cop Who Flagged Deported Dad For Gang Ties Was Later Fired For Misconduct: Police
Cop Who Flagged Deported Dad For Gang Ties Was Later Fired For Misconduct: Police A Maryland police officer who helped document a man later deported to El Salvador was fired for misconduct in an unrelated case, officials confirmed on Thursday. One of the detectives involved in a 2019 police stop that flagged Kilmar Abrego Garcia as showing signs of MS-13 gang affiliation was later terminated from the Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD) for misconduct in another matter, according to a new statement released by the agency. The department said on Thursday, April 17, that former officer Ivan Mendez helped conduct the stop and generate an internal gang intelligenc…

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by Zak Failla
News
Maryland Man Who Preyed On Young Girl For Years Learns Fate In Court: Prosecutors Maryland Man Who Preyed On Young Girl For Years Learns Fate In Court: Prosecutors
Maryland Man Who Preyed On Young Girl For Years Learns Fate In Court: Prosecutors A Maryland man will spend decades behind bars for repeatedly sexually abusing a young child in his household, prosecutors announced. Enemias Bautista Perez, 38, of Greensboro, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in Wicomico County for sexually abusing a minor under the age of 9, the maximum penalty allowed under Maryland law for that charge, officials said Thursday. That sentence will run consecutively to a separate 25-year term in Caroline County for abusing the same victim, good for 50 years. Perez pleaded guilty in Wicomico County back in January.  Investigators said most of the a…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Two Dead In Charles County House Fire Made Worse By Hoarding, Officials Say Two Dead In Charles County House Fire Made Worse By Hoarding, Officials Say
Two Dead In Charles County House Fire Made Worse By Hoarding, Officials Say Deadly hoarding conditions inside a Maryland home made rescue efforts difficult after a fire broke out early Thursday, leaving two dead and one survivor, authorities said. The flames were already ripping through a Brunswick Road home in Faulkner when firefighters arrived shortly after 6:15 a.m. on April 17, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal. Crews from the Bel Alton Volunteer Fire Department and other nearby agencies were told that two people might still be inside the burning house, but extreme hoarding conditions made getting to them nearly impossible. It took 50 firefighters c…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
Senator Denied Prison Visit With Wrongfully Deported Man In El Salvador Senator Denied Prison Visit With Wrongfully Deported Man In El Salvador
Senator Denied Prison Visit With Wrongfully Deported Man In El Salvador Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen's trip to El Salvador to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia in prison took an unexpected turn on Thursday. Van Hollen was denied access to Abrego Garcia at the CECOT high-security facility—along with the family's lawyer—as they went to check on his well-being, the senator said on April 17. "We just tried to go visit him in prison, just to check on his condition, and if he is doing okay, because nobody has had any communication from him since he was illegally abducted from Maryland and sent to prison in El Salvador," Van Hollen said miles away from the prison. Van Hol…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
Teen Threatened School Principal, Religious Groups In Voicemail: Montgomery County Police Teen Threatened School Principal, Religious Groups In Voicemail: Montgomery County Police
Teen Threatened School Principal, Religious Groups In Voicemail: Montgomery County Police A Montgomery County student is facing hate crime charges after allegedly leaving a threatening voicemail targeting a local school principal and multiple groups, police say. Detectives with the Behavioral Assessment and Administrative Unit (BAAU) say the threat was made on Tuesday, March 18, prompting a swift response from Montgomery County Community Engagement officers. Investigators said a voicemail was left at a Montgomery County Public School (MCPS), where the suspect used threatening language aimed at the principal, as well as “various demographic and religious groups.” The 17-year-old…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Suspect Who Shot District Man In Maryland Park Captured Months Later: Police Suspect Who Shot District Man In Maryland Park Captured Months Later: Police
Suspect Who Shot District Man In Maryland Park Captured Months Later: Police A months-long investigation into the deadly shooting of a District man at a Maryland park has led to an arrest — thanks to a tip, police said. Elijah Kamara, 24, of no fixed address, is behind bars and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the 2024 death of 43-year-old Morris Haskins Jr., according to the Prince George’s County Police Department. On Nov. 8, 2024, officers responded to a park in the 7700 block of Walker Mill Road in Capitol Heights around 5:50 p.m. for reports of gunfire.  They found Haskins suffering from a gunshot wound. He died the following day. Dete…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
WATCH: Flames Rip Through Laurel Apartment Building; One Rescued (DEVELOPING) WATCH: Flames Rip Through Laurel Apartment Building; One Rescued (DEVELOPING)
Watch: Flames Rip Through Laurel Apartment Building; One Rescued (Developing) Firefighters rescued one person as flames and smoke tore through a three-story apartment building in Prince George's County on Thursday afternoon. First responders from multiple agencies were called at around noon on April 17 to the Laurel Garden Apartments on Park Avenue, where a two-alarm fire broke out in a middle unit that rapidly spread. Crews from Anne Arundel, Montgomery, Harford, and Prince George's counties all responded to the scene. Apartment Fire, w/ Second Alarm, 11:50am, 900 blk Park Ave., Laurel. One resident removed by firefighters and evaluated for smoke inhalation. @mc…

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by Zak Failla
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