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

Woodbridge, VA
Police & Fire
Gunman Who Killed Relative In Woodbridge Home Captured After Days On The Run: Police (UPDATED) Gunman Who Killed Relative In Woodbridge Home Captured After Days On The Run: Police (UPDATED)
Gunman Who Killed Relative In Woodbridge Home Captured After Days On The Run: Police (Updated) He didn't stay on the run for long. Virginia homicide detectives have arrested the 23-year-old man accused of gunning down his family member inside a Woodbridge apartment complex last week, ending a nearly weeklong manhunt. Thomas Lynwood Brown, of Triangle, was taken into custody on Sunday, Aug. 2, by members of the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force at a location on Westfields Boulevard in Centreville, according to Prince William County police. Brown is accused of fatally shooting 21-year-old Ricardo Xavier Haley, of Gainesville, during a family dispute around 9:12 p.m. on Monday, July 27, …

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Police & Fire
Firefighter Hurt As Flames Tear Through Massive Arlington Home (DEVELOPING) Firefighter Hurt As Flames Tear Through Massive Arlington Home (DEVELOPING)
Firefighter Hurt As Flames Tear Through Massive Arlington Home (Developing) The back of the house is almost unrecognizable. In Arlington, firefighters spent more than an hour battling a destructive blaze at a home in the 4400 block of 33rd Road North Sunday afternoon, leaving behind blown-out windows, smoke-blackened walls and one injured firefighter. Fire crews were dispatched shortly before 1:30 p.m., prompting officials to urge drivers to avoid the neighborhood as a heavy emergency response converged on the scene. By 2:28 p.m., Arlington County Fire and EMS announced the fire had been extinguished. One firefighter was taken to a hospital with non-life-threaten…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Politics
Johns Hopkins Researcher Detained By ICE At BWI Released In Texas, Returning To Maryland Johns Hopkins Researcher Detained By ICE At BWI Released In Texas, Returning To Maryland
Johns Hopkins Researcher Detained By ICE At BWI Released In Texas, Returning To Maryland She never made it onto her flight. Now, it's her coworkers making the trip. Dr.. Fatima Ameaka, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researcher detained by ICE while boarding a domestic flight at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, has been released from federal custody and is on her way back to Baltimore, loved ones say. The update came over the weekend from the organizer of a GoFundMe launched by Ameaka's coworkers just hours after her detention. "I am writing with wonderful news!" organizer Sarah F. wrote. "Fatima was released from a detention f…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
News
Maryland Officer, Marine Veteran Faces Biggest Battle Yet After Stage 3 Cancer Diagnosis Maryland Officer, Marine Veteran Faces Biggest Battle Yet After Stage 3 Cancer Diagnosis
Maryland Officer, Marine Veteran Faces Biggest Battle Yet After Stage 3 Cancer Diagnosis Some battles can't be won with a badge. In Maryland, US Park Police Officer Andre Lassiter is facing the toughest fight of his life as he undergoes chemotherapy for stage 3 cancer that has spread to his lungs. The husband and father of four has spent much of his adult life serving others.  After more than nine years in the US Marine Corps, where he held leadership roles as an infantry team leader, infantry squad leader and career planner, Lassiter joined the US Park Police in June 2023. He also earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Mount St. Mary's University last…

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by Zak Failla
Landover, MD
Police & Fire
Woman Wounded In Prince George's Car Meetup Shooting: Police Woman Wounded In Prince George's Car Meetup Shooting: Police
Woman Wounded In Prince George's Car Meetup Shooting: Police Another overnight car meetup in Maryland ended with gunfire. A woman was shot during an illegal gathering in Landover early Sunday, Aug. 2, prompting Prince George's County police to once again warn that the increasingly popular events continue to put lives at risk. The victim walked into the University of Maryland Capital Region Hospital around 3:51 a.m. with a gunshot wound, according to the Prince George's County Police Department. As officers investigated, they learned the shooting happened during a car meetup in the 2300 block of Beaver Road. Police responded to the scene, interviewe…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
News
Do You Recognize Him? Alexandria Police Seek Family Of Toddler Found Walking Alone Barefoot Do You Recognize Him? Alexandria Police Seek Family Of Toddler Found Walking Alone Barefoot
Do You Recognize Him? Alexandria Police Seek Family Of Toddler Found Walking Alone Barefoot A barefoot toddler was found wandering alone through an Alexandria neighborhood Sunday morning, and police are hoping someone recognizes him. The child was discovered unattended in the 4600 block of Kinsey Lane and is now safe, according to the Alexandria Police Department. Officers shared a photo of the young boy on social media shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 2, asking for the community's help identifying him and reuniting him with his family. The toddler was wearing red shorts and was shirtless when he was found. He was also carrying what appears to be a toy. Police have not said how l…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
News
Teen Shot During Massive Car Meet In Woodbridge Fighting For Life, Police Say (DEVELOPING) Teen Shot During Massive Car Meet In Woodbridge Fighting For Life, Police Say (DEVELOPING)
Teen Shot During Massive Car Meet In Woodbridge Fighting For Life, Police Say (Developing) What started as a massive overnight car meet in Virginia ended with a teenager fighting for his life. Prince William County police are investigating a shooting that left a 16-year-old boy critically wounded early Saturday, Aug. 1, after gunfire erupted at a gathering in Woodbridge. Officers were notified of the shooting around 2:02 a.m. after the teen arrived at an area hospital with a gunshot wound to the upper body, according to police. Investigators determined the shooting had happened earlier in the 14100 block of Crossing Place, where a large car meet had drawn a crowd. By the time o…

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by Zak Failla
Havre de Grace, MD
Police & Fire
Three Motorcycles Go Up In Flames After Overnight Fire Erupts In Harford County Shed Three Motorcycles Go Up In Flames After Overnight Fire Erupts In Harford County Shed
Three Motorcycles Go Up In Flames After Overnight Fire Erupts In Harford County Shed A fast-moving fire turned a backyard shed into an inferno before sunrise in Maryland. Firefighters were called to a property on Calvary Road in Churchville around 2:13 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 1, after flames broke out inside a wood-framed shed, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office. By the time crews from the Level Volunteer Fire Company arrived, the Harford County structure was heavily involved in fire. About 25 firefighters brought the blaze under control in just 10 minutes, preventing it from spreading beyond the property. Investigators determined the fire started inside…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
News
'SinningPastor' Gets Fresh Prison Term After Trying To Lure '14-Year-Old' Again In VA: Feds 'SinningPastor' Gets Fresh Prison Term After Trying To Lure '14-Year-Old' Again In VA: Feds
'SinningPastor' Gets Fresh Prison Term After Trying To Lure '14-Year-Old' Again In VA: Feds There was nothing subtle about the name. In Virginia, prosecutors say a convicted child sex offender who went by the online handle "SinningPastor" was back looking for another child less than two years after getting out of federal prison. Now, Christopher Charles Collins, 40, of Hampton, is headed back behind bars. According to prosecutors, Collins was released from federal prison on Nov. 24, 2023, after serving time for a 2018 conviction involving possession of child sexual abuse material and attempting to transfer obscene material to someone under 16. Authorities say it didn't take long…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
News
Illegal Immigrant Convicted In Fatal Maryland Hit-Run Of US Marine Faces Third Deportation: ICE Illegal Immigrant Convicted In Fatal Maryland Hit-Run Of US Marine Faces Third Deportation: ICE
Illegal Immigrant Convicted In Fatal Maryland Hit-Run Of US Marine Faces Third Deportation: ICE The man convicted in the hit-and-run death of a young US Marine in Maryland is headed toward deportation once again after illegally returning to the United States not once, but twice, according to federal officials. Martin Martinez-Ballinas, 38, a Mexican national, was sentenced Friday, July 31, to 21 months in federal prison for illegally reentering the United States after a prior felony conviction, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland announced. The conviction traces back to a 2017 Montgomery County case in which Martinez-Ballinas was found guilty of a deadly automotive o…

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by Zak Failla
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