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

Suitland, MD
Breaking News
Bodycam Captures Final Moments Before PG County Officer Fatally Shoots 33-Year-Old Man Bodycam Captures Final Moments Before PG County Officer Fatally Shoots 33-Year-Old Man
Bodycam Captures Final Moments Before PG County Officer Fatally Shoots 33-Year-Old Man Newly released video is providing the first public look at the moments before a Maryland police officer fatally shot a 33-year-old man during a late-night encounter last month. The Maryland Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division released body-worn and dashboard camera footage on Monday, Sept. 21, from the Aug. 21 shooting of Tawfiq Abdul Haqq in Suitland. Haqq, a Temple Hills resident, was shot shortly after 11:30 p.m. in the 4500 block of Reamy Drive during an encounter with Prince George’s County Police Officer Corbin Davis. Maryland OAG Independent Investigations…

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by Zak Failla
Upper Marlboro, MD
Breaking News
Medical Examiner Reaches Ruling In Upper Marlboro Hanging Death That Drew Community Concern Medical Examiner Reaches Ruling In Upper Marlboro Hanging Death That Drew Community Concern
Medical Examiner Reaches Ruling In Upper Marlboro Hanging Death That Drew Community Concern The death of a man found hanging from a tree in Maryland has been ruled a suicide by the state medical examiner, though police say their investigation remains ongoing. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore notified Prince George’s County Police on Monday, Sept. 21, that the man died by suicide by hanging and had no other signs of trauma to his body, according to the department. The ruling comes one day after officers were called to the 9300 block of D’Arcy Road in the unincorporated Upper Marlboro area, where the man was found hanging outside at approximately 7:55 a.m. on Su…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Breaking News
Kidnapped Dad Brought To Annapolis, Executed Near Middle School As Third Man Found Guilty Kidnapped Dad Brought To Annapolis, Executed Near Middle School As Third Man Found Guilty
Kidnapped Dad Brought To Annapolis, Executed Near Middle School As Third Man Found Guilty A third man has been convicted in the kidnapping and execution-style murder of a Maryland father who was abducted in Baltimore and later found shot to death near an Annapolis middle school. Baltimore resident Marquis Mayo, 37, was found guilty on Monday, Sept. 21, of murder and other offenses following the execution-style killing of 47-year-old David Lewis Winchester Jr. in 2024, according to the Anne Arundel County Police Department. Winchester was found dead on March 28, 2024, in a wooded area near the track and field at Wiley H. Bates Middle School in Annapolis. He had been shot twice in…

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by Zak Failla
Sterling, VA
Breaking News
Bomb Threat Posted On Sterling Muslim Center's Own Instagram Page Leads To Arrest: Sheriff Bomb Threat Posted On Sterling Muslim Center's Own Instagram Page Leads To Arrest: Sheriff
Bomb Threat Posted On Sterling Muslim Center's Own Instagram Page Leads To Arrest: Sheriff A threat buried in an Instagram comment got the attention of investigators in Virginia. What followed was a multi-agency investigation, several search warrants and the arrest of a 50-year-old man accused of threatening to bring an explosive device to an event at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society Center, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. Investigators were alerted after someone posted the threatening comment on the ADAMS Center's Instagram page, authorities announced on Monday, Sept. 21. The message indicated that someone intended to deliver an explosive device to an event …

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Obituaries
Air Force Vet, Virginia Ska Festival Founder Tim Receveur Dies Days After Final Supernova Air Force Vet, Virginia Ska Festival Founder Tim Receveur Dies Days After Final Supernova
Air Force Vet, Virginia Ska Festival Founder Tim Receveur Dies Days After Final Supernova Tim Receveur spent much of his life bringing people together. In Virginia, thousands showed up for what would become his final weekend doing just that. Receveur, the Hampton man behind the Supernova International Ska Festival at Fort Monroe, died unexpectedly on Tuesday, Sept. 15, just days after the latest three-day festival ended.  He was a husband, father, Air Force veteran, former State Department officer, hostage advocate, historian, author and a driving force in the international ska community. His death stunned people across each of those worlds. Just two days earlier, frie…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
87-Year-Old Told Witness He Shot His Roommate, Where To Find Body In Frederick: Cops 87-Year-Old Told Witness He Shot His Roommate, Where To Find Body In Frederick: Cops
87-Year-Old Told Witness He Shot His Roommate, Where To Find Body In Frederick: Cops A Maryland man has been charged with murder after his 63-year-old roommate was found dead in the home they shared, authorities announced. Irwin Joseph Dickstein, 87, has been arrested following an investigation by the Frederick Police Department into the fatal shooting of Michael Roy Bushnell over the weekend. A death investigation was launched on Sunday, Sept. 20, in the unit block of Franklin Street, where they found Bushnell dead inside the home. On Sunday, police say the Frederick County Sheriff's Office notified the department that Dickstein had told a witness that he shot his ro…

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by Zak Failla
Tysons, VA
Your Community
$27M Makeover Sets Stage As Two-Building Tysons Office Portfolio Changes Hands $27M Makeover Sets Stage As Two-Building Tysons Office Portfolio Changes Hands
$27M Makeover Sets Stage As Two-Building Tysons Office Portfolio Changes Hands A pair of prominent Virginia office buildings have new owners after a $27 million overhaul helped breathe new life into the properties. The 466,230-square-foot portfolio at 1676 International Drive and 8260 Greensboro Drive in Tysons was acquired by Cummings Capital Partners and JSB Capital Group, JLL Capital Markets announced on Monday, Sept. 21. JLL represented the seller in the deal and arranged acquisition financing for the buyers. The company did not disclose the sale price or financing amount. The portfolio includes two very different buildings: a 309,318-square-foot, 13-story tower …

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by Zak Failla
Poolesville, MD
Breaking News
Resident's Tip Leads Police To Damaged Truck After Deadly Poolesville Hit-Run Crash (UPDATED) Resident's Tip Leads Police To Damaged Truck After Deadly Poolesville Hit-Run Crash (UPDATED)
Resident's Tip Leads Police To Damaged Truck After Deadly Poolesville Hit-Run Crash (Updated) Travis Edward Lowe didn't leave Maryland police with much to work with. But he left enough for them to track him down. Less than two days after Dakota Joseph Grimsby was fatally struck outside McDonald's in Poolesville, detectives say debris scattered at the crash scene, a tip from a resident, and a damaged pickup truck led them to the 26-year-old Frederick resident. Lowe was arrested on Monday, Sept. 21, and charged in connection with the hit-run that killed Grimsby, 27, early Sunday morning. Investigators got their first break from what the driver allegedly left behind. Pieces of t…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Your Community
Maryland Man Squeezes Mom's Hand On Command Week After Crash Left Him Critically Hurt Maryland Man Squeezes Mom's Hand On Command Week After Crash Left Him Critically Hurt
Maryland Man Squeezes Mom's Hand On Command Week After Crash Left Him Critically Hurt A squeeze of his mother’s hand meant everything after a brutal week for the family of a 21-year-old Maryland man fighting for his life. Tristan Archer Roush, who lives in Baltimore and is from Abingdon, remained in critical condition at Shock Trauma on Monday, Sept. 21, one week after he was severely injured in a crash and flown to the hospital. But his family received an encouraging sign Monday morning. Roush squeezed his mother Michele’s hand on voice command and also moved his toes and shoulders when asked, according to his brother, Chayse Roush. Doctors also successfully removed a mon…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Brass Knuckles Found Before Virginia Man Kicked Out PWC Police Cruiser Window: Police Brass Knuckles Found Before Virginia Man Kicked Out PWC Police Cruiser Window: Police
Brass Knuckles Found Before Virginia Man Kicked Out PWC Police Cruiser Window: Police What started as an investigation into a suspicious vehicle in Northern Virginia ended with a damaged police cruiser and a 39-year-old man behind bars after a dramatic arrest. Bealeton resident Harrison George Brown III put members of the Prince William County Police Department through their paces following a strange scene that played out in Woodbridge over the weekend. Shortly before 12:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, officers in the area of Mary's Way and Ranger Loop spotted a parked vehicle with an open door and a driver inside. Investigators say that Brown was intoxicated and placed under …

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by Zak Failla
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