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

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
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
48-Year-Old Man Found Dead, Decomposing Inside Vehicle In Woodbridge Neighborhood: Police 48-Year-Old Man Found Dead, Decomposing Inside Vehicle In Woodbridge Neighborhood: Police
48-Year-Old Man Found Dead, Decomposing Inside Vehicle In Woodbridge Neighborhood: Police A grisly discovery greeted police in Virginia before sunrise over the weekend. Officers were called to the 2700 block of Yosocomico Lane in Woodbridge at approximately 4:19 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13, where they found a 48-year-old man dead inside his vehicle, according to Prince William County Police. 2700 block of Yosocomico Lane in Woodbridge Google Maps satellite view His body was in a decomposed state when officers found him, investigators said. Police did not say how long the man may have been inside the vehicle or what prompted the early-morning call. Investigators said …

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Your Community
Search For Missing DC Mom Antoinette Forbes Spreads As Family Refuses To Give Up Search For Missing DC Mom Antoinette Forbes Spreads As Family Refuses To Give Up
Search For Missing DC Mom Antoinette Forbes Spreads As Family Refuses To Give Up Antoinette Forbes seemingly vanished without a trace. The 53-year-old mother was last seen at around 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, in the 3200 block of Nebraska Avenue NW in Washington, DC, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. More than a week later, her disappearance has sparked a widening search, national attention and an outpouring from friends and family who say they won't stop until Forbes comes home. Now they're raising money to keep that search going. A GoFundMe launched on behalf of Forbes' family has raised thousands of dollars to help cover legal counsel, search efforts…

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by Zak Failla
Sterling, VA
Breaking News
Marine Veteran In Coma After Hemorrhagic Stroke Turns Costa Rica Vacation Into Nightmare Marine Veteran In Coma After Hemorrhagic Stroke Turns Costa Rica Vacation Into Nightmare
Marine Veteran In Coma After Hemorrhagic Stroke Turns Costa Rica Vacation Into Nightmare A Virginia Marine Corps veteran's vacation in paradise turned into a fight for his life. James Mathews suffered a hemorrhagic stroke on Monday, Sept. 7, while vacationing in Costa Rica and has remained in a medically induced coma as his family faces mounting medical bills and a costly effort to bring him home. Mathews had spent the day surfing before the sudden medical emergency, according to friend Shawn Roxby, who organized a GoFundMe on the family's behalf. He was initially rushed to a public hospital, but the severity of his condition required an urgent transfer to a private facility f…

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by Zak Failla
Hagerstown, MD
Breaking News
Speeding Motorcyclist Killed After Crashing Into Guardrail On Hagerstown Highway: Sheriff Speeding Motorcyclist Killed After Crashing Into Guardrail On Hagerstown Highway: Sheriff
Speeding Motorcyclist Killed After Crashing Into Guardrail On Hagerstown Highway: Sheriff A late-night ride ended at a guardrail in Maryland. Bryan John Murphy Sr., 30, was killed in a motorcycle crash on Hopewell Road just north of Halfway Boulevard in Hagerstown shortly before 11 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. Deputies were called to the scene at approximately 10:49 p.m., where investigators determined Murphy had been riding a 1996 Honda CBR600 at a high rate of speed before striking the guardrail. Murphy was rushed to Meritus Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Hopewell Road remained closed while deputies investiga…

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by Zak Failla
Germantown, MD
Your Community
Germantown Grandmother Wins $50K For Second Time After Good Deed: 'It Was Karma' Germantown Grandmother Wins $50K For Second Time After Good Deed: 'It Was Karma'
Germantown Grandmother Wins $50K For Second Time After Good Deed: 'It Was Karma' Good karma apparently pays pretty well in Maryland. A Germantown grandmother is celebrating her second $50,000 Pick 5 win this year, and this one came just hours after she refused to take advantage of an honor-system farm stand while others apparently did. The retired postal worker, whose name was not released, regularly plays Pick 3, Pick 4, and Pick 5, giving her grandson money every Tuesday to buy her tickets for the week. Among them was a $14 Pick 5 ticket covering the midday and evening drawings from Aug. 18 through Aug. 25 using her special numbers: 1-2-9-1-2. On Aug. 23, they hit s…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
One Closed Door Helped Contain $300K Maryland Fire Sparked By Smoking Materials One Closed Door Helped Contain $300K Maryland Fire Sparked By Smoking Materials
One Closed Door Helped Contain $300K Maryland Fire Sparked By Smoking Materials A closed door may have kept a $300,000 Maryland house fire from becoming even worse. The fire broke out shortly before 8 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13, inside the attached garage of a home on Briarwood Circle in Denton, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal. Investigators say an occupant discovered the flames and closed the interior door connecting the garage to the home as the family escaped. That move made a difference. Fire officials credited the closed door with containing most of the damage to the garage before 25 members of the Denton Volunteer Fire Company brought the blaze under…

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by Zak Failla
Aberdeen, MD
Breaking News
MURDER-SUICIDE: Aberdeen Man Kills Senior Living Worker, Found Dead After Manhunt MURDER-SUICIDE: Aberdeen Man Kills Senior Living Worker, Found Dead After Manhunt
Murder-suicide: Aberdeen Man Kills Senior Living Worker, Found Dead After Manhunt Police in Maryland are investigating a reported murder-suicide involving an employee at a senior living facility and someone known to her. Baltimore resident Asia Natee Virginia Thomas, 27, has been identified by the Anne Arundel Police Department as the persona allegedly killed by Aberdeen native Deontae Tranell Bryant, 25, who later turned the gun on himself. According to the department, shortly before 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, officers were called to the Morningside House of Friendship in Hanover to investigate reports of shots fired. Upon arrival, they found Thomas suffering fro…

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by Zak Failla
Kensington, MD
Breaking News
Teen Dies After Fleeing Crash, Jumping Over Capital Beltway Railing: State Police (UPDATED) Teen Dies After Fleeing Crash, Jumping Over Capital Beltway Railing: State Police (UPDATED)
Teen Dies After Fleeing Crash, Jumping Over Capital Beltway Railing: State Police (Updated) The frightening fall from the Capital Beltway in Maryland turned fatal. An 18-year-old man died after plunging approximately 50 feet from I-495 onto Stoney Brook Drive in Kensington on Sunday night, Sept. 13, Maryland State Police confirmed on Monday. His name has not been released. Shortly after 7 p.m., troopers were called to a multi-vehicle crash on the Outer Loop past Georgia Avenue, where police say the teen had been driving a blue Ford Fusion. Investigators say the Fusion struck an unattended Chevrolet pickup truck that was being towed by a white tow truck. No injuries were reported…

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by Zak Failla
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