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

Chantilly, VA
Breaking News
Woman In Wheelchair Struck, Killed While Crossing Route 50 In Fairfax Identified (DEVELOPING) Woman In Wheelchair Struck, Killed While Crossing Route 50 In Fairfax Identified (DEVELOPING)
Woman In Wheelchair Struck, Killed While Crossing Route 50 In Fairfax Identified (Developing) A woman using a wheelchair was killed while trying to cross a busy Virginia highway Friday night. Theresa Flynn, 53, of Chantilly, was attempting to make her way across Route 50 near Plaza Lane in Fairfax County shortly before 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 18 when she was hit by a Kia, police said. Flynn was headed across the westbound lanes in her mobility wheelchair when the driver struck her. She was outside a crosswalk at the time. The impact left Flynn with critical injuries. She was taken to the hospital, but doctors were unable to save her. The driver escaped injury and stopped after the cra…

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by Zak Failla
Bel Air, MD
Breaking News
Rabid Raccoon Found In Harford County Prompts Warning About Possible Exposure Rabid Raccoon Found In Harford County Prompts Warning About Possible Exposure
Rabid Raccoon Found In Harford County Prompts Warning About Possible Exposure Maryland health officials are warning residents about a possible rabies exposure after a raccoon tested positive for the virus. The raccoon was found near the 1900 block of Jerrys Road in Street, the Harford County Health Department announced on Friday, Sept. 18. The department received confirmation from the Maryland Department of Health that day that the animal had tested positive for rabies. Officials said the raccoon may have come into contact with people or pets in the surrounding area. Anyone who believes they or their pets had contact with a raccoon in the area has been asked to cal…

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by Zak Failla
Aberdeen, MD
Breaking News
I-95 Road Rage Suspect Found Armed With Loaded 9mm At Aberdeen Proving Ground: Police I-95 Road Rage Suspect Found Armed With Loaded 9mm At Aberdeen Proving Ground: Police
I-95 Road Rage Suspect Found Armed With Loaded 9mm At Aberdeen Proving Ground: Police A Maryland road rage investigation ended in a place few fleeing drivers would probably choose to hide: a US Army installation. Baltimore resident Adam Kuper, 25, was tracked to Aberdeen Proving Ground on Friday, Sept. 18, after allegedly pointing a gun at another driver on I-95 and continuing north into Harford County, Maryland State Police said. The encounter began shortly before 9:45 a.m. on northbound I-95 near mile marker 72 in Baltimore County, where police say Kuper was driving a white Mazda CX-5. What started as road rage allegedly escalated when Kuper pointed a gun at the other dri…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Man Refused To Fight Over 'Perceived Slight,' So Teen Shot Him Dead: Prosecutors Maryland Man Refused To Fight Over 'Perceived Slight,' So Teen Shot Him Dead: Prosecutors
Maryland Man Refused To Fight Over 'Perceived Slight,' So Teen Shot Him Dead: Prosecutors A passing comment cost a young Maryland man his life. More than a year later, 18-year-old Jonathan Jobe has been convicted of second-degree murder for shooting Dajaud Rae’heim Townsend in the face behind a Salisbury home after taking offense to something he said. A Wicomico County jury returned the verdict on Wednesday, Sept. 16, following an eight-day trial, according to State's Attorney Jamie Dykes' office. Prosecutors say the deadly encounter unfolded behind a Smith Street home on July 15, 2025. Townsend made a comment that offended Jobe, who responded by putting a gun against his head…

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by Zak Failla
Landover, MD
Breaking News
Passenger Thrown Into Roadway After Car Loses Control, Slams Into Light Pole In Landover Passenger Thrown Into Roadway After Car Loses Control, Slams Into Light Pole In Landover
Passenger Thrown Into Roadway After Car Loses Control, Slams Into Light Pole In Landover A late-night ride turned deadly in Maryland when a car went out of control and sent one of its passengers flying into the roadway, police said. The single-vehicle crash happened at approximately 2:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, in the area of Landover Road and Kent Town Drive in Landover, according to the Prince George’s County Police Department. Investigators say the car was heading south on Landover Road when the driver lost control for reasons that remain under investigation. The car ultimately slammed into a light pole. One passenger was ejected from the vehicle and found in the roadway…

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by Zak Failla
Bristow, VA
Breaking News
Former Co-Worker Accused Of Raping 16-Year-Old Girl After Bristow Meetup: Police Former Co-Worker Accused Of Raping 16-Year-Old Girl After Bristow Meetup: Police
Former Co-Worker Accused Of Raping 16-Year-Old Girl After Bristow Meetup: Police A 34-year-old man is accused of turning a meetup with his 16-year-old former co-worker into a rape. Months after the alleged assault at a home in Bristow, Manassas resident Edgar Jose Mendoza was arrested on Monday, Sept. 15, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Investigators say Mendoza and the girl knew each other from working together and agreed to meet at a home on Breeden Hall Court at around 6 p.m. on March 15. She was 16 at the time. During the encounter, Mendoza allegedly sexually assaulted the teen. Police said she did not report suffering any injuries. The …

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by Zak Failla
Hyattsville, MD
Breaking News
Two Men Charged With Killing Hyattsville-Area Driver They Didn't Know, Motive Remains Mystery Two Men Charged With Killing Hyattsville-Area Driver They Didn't Know, Motive Remains Mystery
Two Men Charged With Killing Hyattsville-Area Driver They Didn't Know, Motive Remains Mystery Brian Vasquez Rodriguez never made it out of the driver's seat. Nearly two weeks after the 33-year-old was found shot to death behind the wheel of his car in Maryland, two men have been arrested on murder charges, though investigators still don't know what led to the killing. Officers found the Adelphi resident shortly after 4:15 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 6, inside his vehicle on the 2200 block of Lewisdale Drive in the Hyattsville area, according to Prince George's County Police. Rodriguez had been shot and could not be saved. For the next 10 days, homicide detectives worked the case before …

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by Zak Failla
Sterling, VA
Breaking News
Three Cats Needed Oxygen After Flames Broke Out Inside Sterling Home: Fire Officials Three Cats Needed Oxygen After Flames Broke Out Inside Sterling Home: Fire Officials
Three Cats Needed Oxygen After Flames Broke Out Inside Sterling Home: Fire Officials A forgotten stove turned into a six-figure problem for a Virginia family. A Friday morning fire in Loudoun County caused more than $170,000 in damage, displaced nine people and left one of the family's four cats dead, officials said. Crews were called to the 100 block of Garfield Road in Sterling at approximately 9:50 a.m. on Sept. 18, where firefighters found smoke pushing from the first floor and roofline of the two-story home. The homeowner had already escaped. Firefighters knocked down the flames in the kitchen and searched the home to make sure the fire had not spread. Then attentio…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
23 Years After Joshua Crawford Was Murdered On His Birthday, Frederick Man Charged: Sheriff 23 Years After Joshua Crawford Was Murdered On His Birthday, Frederick Man Charged: Sheriff
23 Years After Joshua Crawford Was Murdered On His Birthday, Frederick Man Charged: Sheriff For 23 years, the killing of Joshua Wayne Crawford never went away. Now, a Maryland man has been arrested in the cold case murder of Crawford, who was found dead on what would have been his 21st birthday, the Frederick County Sheriff's Office announced on Friday, Sept. 18. Tavon Jamar Willis, 46, of Frederick, was taken into custody after a grand jury returned an indictment Friday morning connecting him to Crawford's 2003 murder, according to the sheriff's office. Crawford was found murdered inside his Exeter Court apartment on July 2, 2003. He would have turned 21 that day. The Maryland…

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by Zak Failla
Triangle-Dumfries, VA
Breaking News
Third Floor Of Virginia Motel Became Protected Drug, Sex Marketplace, Feds Say Third Floor Of Virginia Motel Became Protected Drug, Sex Marketplace, Feds Say
Third Floor Of Virginia Motel Became Protected Drug, Sex Marketplace, Feds Say The third floor wasn't just another place to spend the night. Federal prosecutors say it became the moneymaker at a Virginia motel, where rooms cost extra for guests who wanted a protected place to buy and sell drugs or engage in commercial sex. Now, the woman who helped run it is headed to federal prison for more than a decade. Kosha Sharma, 53, who operated the Red Carpet Inn in Dumfries with her husband, was sentenced on Thursday, Sept. 17, to 10 years and 10 months behind bars for conspiring to distribute fentanyl and managing a drug-involved premises, according to federal prosecutors.…

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by Zak Failla
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