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

Silver Spring, MD
Breaking News
Montgomery County Killer Convicted After Comparing Father's Murder To 'Squashing A Bug' Montgomery County Killer Convicted After Comparing Father's Murder To 'Squashing A Bug'
Montgomery County Killer Convicted After Comparing Father's Murder To 'Squashing A Bug' Killing a father was like “squashing a bug,” according to a Maryland man now facing decades behind bars. Jeriel Martin, 35, of Silver Spring, was convicted by a Montgomery County jury for his role in the grisly murder of 34-year-old Jamar Jenifer. The shooting was reported shortly before 9:40 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2024, outside The Galaxy Apartments on 13th Street in Silver Spring. Surveillance video captured Jenifer walking past Martin, who was sitting on a retaining wall outside the building. The two appeared to exchange words before Martin got up, approached Jenifer, pulled out a handgun and…

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by Zak Failla
Rockville, MD
Breaking News
Woman Bails Out Of Moving Car After Stranger Attacks, Tries To Kidnap Her In Rockville: Police Woman Bails Out Of Moving Car After Stranger Attacks, Tries To Kidnap Her In Rockville: Police
Woman Bails Out Of Moving Car After Stranger Attacks, Tries To Kidnap Her In Rockville: Police A woman made a desperate escape from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping in Maryland, police say. The attack happened at around 12:50 a.m. on Saturday, July 4, in the 400 block of Croydon Avenue in Rockville, according to Montgomery County Police. Investigators say a man got into the woman's vehicle, assaulted her and attempted to kidnap her before she managed to escape while the car was still moving. The attacker kept going. Police said he drove off in the woman's vehicle, which was later recovered in the 11400 block of Parkvale Road in Rockville. The woman was taken to an area …

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
13-Year-Old Flashes Gun On FaceTime, Threatens Maryland Middle School Students: Sheriff 13-Year-Old Flashes Gun On FaceTime, Threatens Maryland Middle School Students: Sheriff
13-Year-Old Flashes Gun On FaceTime, Threatens Maryland Middle School Students: Sheriff A late-night FaceTime call took a frightening turn for a group of Maryland middle school students. Several Davis Middle School students were on the call at around 10 p.m. on Sept. 8 when a 13-year-old relative of one of the students suddenly appeared, according to the Charles County Sheriff's Office. Investigators say the teen displayed what appeared to be a firearm before threatening to come to the school the next day and harm the students on the call. But authorities weren't immediately told about the threat. School administrators learned what happened early the following afternoon and …

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by Zak Failla
Randallstown, MD
Breaking News
21-Year-Old Found Shot In Baltimore Neighborhood Dies As Killer Remains At Large (DEVELOPING) 21-Year-Old Found Shot In Baltimore Neighborhood Dies As Killer Remains At Large (DEVELOPING)
21-Year-Old Found Shot In Baltimore Neighborhood Dies As Killer Remains At Large (Developing) Tavaughn Hamlet Jr. was only 21. His name was released on Monday, Sept. 14, one day after he was found suffering from gunshot wounds on Mylander Lane in Towson, according to Baltimore County Police. The shooting was reported at approximately 11:10 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13, bringing officers to the 8700 block. Hamlet was still alive when they arrived. He was rushed to an area hospital, where he later died from his injuries. Now detectives are trying to piece together what happened. Police have not said what led to the shooting, identified a suspect or announced any arrests in the homicid…

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by Zak Failla
Gaithersburg, MD
Breaking News
Men Leave Rockville Restaurant Separately, Cross Paths Again Before Deadly Shooting: Police Men Leave Rockville Restaurant Separately, Cross Paths Again Before Deadly Shooting: Police
Men Leave Rockville Restaurant Separately, Cross Paths Again Before Deadly Shooting: Police Something strange happened after a confrontation spilled out of a Maryland restaurant. Nicholas Njuki, 33, of Gaithersburg, was shot and killed shortly after 2 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13, following a series of encounters that began inside Quincy's on Seven Locks Road in Rockville, according to Montgomery County Police. Investigators say Njuki first got into a confrontation with a man inside the restaurant. Then they went their separate ways. Njuki left with another person, got into a vehicle and drove away, police said. The other man also left in a separate vehicle. But that wasn't the end…

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by Zak Failla
Stafford, VA
Breaking News
Swerving Drunk Driver Had Child In Car, Then Refused Breath, Blood Tests: Stafford Sheriff Swerving Drunk Driver Had Child In Car, Then Refused Breath, Blood Tests: Stafford Sheriff
Swerving Drunk Driver Had Child In Car, Then Refused Breath, Blood Tests: Stafford Sheriff The driver wasn't alone. A child was inside a car when deputies stopped an allegedly impaired driver in Stafford County over the weekend, according to the sheriff's office. Shortly after 7:15 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12, a deputy spotted a vehicle being driven erratically near International Parkway and Warrenton Road and initiated a traffic stop, officials said. The driver, later identified as Fredericksburg resident Javier Mejia, 54, admitted he had consumed alcohol shortly before getting behind the wheel, according to the sheriff's office. Investigators said Mejia had glossy eyes, slurre…

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by Zak Failla
Bethesda, MD
Breaking News
Family Dog Killed In $1.5M Maryland House Fire That Displaced Four (PHOTOS) Family Dog Killed In $1.5M Maryland House Fire That Displaced Four (PHOTOS)
Family Dog Killed In $1.5M Maryland House Fire That Displaced Four (Photos) A $1.5 million fire tore through a Maryland home, leaving a family displaced and their dog dead. The fire broke out at around 11:40 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 14, at a three-level home in the 5900 block of Sonoma Road in Bethesda, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Pete Piringer. A neighbor spotted smoke and fire coming from the house and called 911. The fire in Montgomery County. Twitter/@mcfrsPIO When firefighters and police arrived, they found heavy fire on the first floor that was rapidly spreading to the second floor and attic. The fire in M…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
Dump Truck Overturns, Leaks Fuel Near Fairfax County Parkway (DEVELOPING) Dump Truck Overturns, Leaks Fuel Near Fairfax County Parkway (DEVELOPING)
Dump Truck Overturns, Leaks Fuel Near Fairfax County Parkway (Developing) A messy cleanup is snarling traffic in Virginia. Fairfax County firefighters were called to Fullerton Road at Boudinot Drive in Springfield at 12:21 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14, where crews found an overturned dump truck actively leaking fuel. The driver was able to get out of the truck before crews arrived and was evaluated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue. HazMat crews were called in to contain the leaking fuel and assist with cleanup. The crash has also forced the closure of the Fairfax County Parkway ramps to Boudinot Drive while crews work a…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
Second Teen Charged In Targeted Killing Of Aspiring Electrician Michael Sakyi Jr. In Manassas Second Teen Charged In Targeted Killing Of Aspiring Electrician Michael Sakyi Jr. In Manassas
Second Teen Charged In Targeted Killing Of Aspiring Electrician Michael Sakyi Jr. In Manassas A second teen has been charged in the targeted killing of an aspiring electrician in Virginia. Prince William County detectives arrested a 16-year-old Manassas boy without incident on Monday, Sept. 14, nearly three months after 18-year-old Michael Sakyi Jr. was shot and killed behind the wheel of his car. The teen, whose name was not released because of his age, was charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He is being held at the Juvenile Detention Center pending a court date. He is the second person charged in Sakyi's death. Jamal Dana Allen, …

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by Zak Failla
Triangle-Dumfries, VA
Breaking News
Home, Urgent Care, Skrimp Shack Targeted In Dumfries Burglary Spree, Police Say Home, Urgent Care, Skrimp Shack Targeted In Dumfries Burglary Spree, Police Say
Home, Urgent Care, Skrimp Shack Targeted In Dumfries Burglary Spree, Police Say A two-day burglary spree cut through Virginia before police say they caught up with the woman behind it. Shanice Shentel Yates, 34, was arrested on Friday, Sept. 11, following a string of break-ins and an attempted burglary reported along Larkin Court and Wayside Drive in Dumfries, Prince William County Police announced on Monday, Sept. 14. The spree began sometime between noon on Monday, Sept. 7 and 8:40 a.m. the following morning at the Urgent Medical Care Center on Wayside Drive, according to investigators. Someone got inside through an unlocked rear door and stole an undisclosed amount…

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by Zak Failla
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