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
Obituaries
Ricky Lamot Died Trying To Help Co-Worker During Deadly Manassas Shooting, Family Says Ricky Lamot Died Trying To Help Co-Worker During Deadly Manassas Shooting, Family Says Ricky Lamot Died Trying To Help Co-Worker During Deadly Manassas Shooting, Family Says
Ricky Lamot Died Trying To Help Co-Worker During Deadly Manassas Shooting, Family Says Ricky James Lamot spent his life looking out for others. His family says he died doing exactly that when violence erupted at his Virginia workplace. The 48-year-old Bealeton father of two was among two employees killed during a shooting at United Rentals in Manassas on Wednesday, Sept. 30, and now his loved ones are sharing new details about what they say happened in his final moments. According to a GoFundMe organized by extended family members, Lamot was trying to help a co-worker during the violent confrontation when he was fatally shot. The fundraiser describes his actions as a reflect…

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by Zak Failla
Elkridge, MD
Breaking News
Driver Identified By Police After Deadly Head-On Crash With Semi-Truck On Elkridge Highway Driver Identified By Police After Deadly Head-On Crash With Semi-Truck On Elkridge Highway Driver Identified By Police After Deadly Head-On Crash With Semi-Truck On Elkridge Highway
Driver Identified By Police After Deadly Head-On Crash With Semi-Truck On Elkridge Highway A Maryland man's drive ended in tragedy when his car crossed into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a semi-truck. Howard County police identified the victim on Thursday, Oct. 8, as Uk Sang, 37, of Elkridge, who was killed in the crash along Washington Boulevard (Route 1) near Troy Hill Drive earlier in the week. Investigators say Sang was driving a 2004 Honda Accord southbound at approximately 8:51 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 6, when his vehicle crossed into the opposite lane for reasons that remain under investigation. The Honda struck a 2017 Volvo semi-truck head-on. Sang, who was al…

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
Innocent Woman Killed Inside Charles County Bar After Fight Spills Outside: Gunman Learns Fate Innocent Woman Killed Inside Charles County Bar After Fight Spills Outside: Gunman Learns Fate Innocent Woman Killed Inside Charles County Bar After Fight Spills Outside: Gunman Learns Fate
Innocent Woman Killed Inside Charles County Bar After Fight Spills Outside: Gunman Learns Fate Mariah Logan wasn't part of the fight. She never had a chance. The 27-year-old woman was inside a White Plains bar when gunfire erupted outside on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, killing her and another man after a dispute turned deadly in Charles County. Now, more than three years later, one of the men responsible for the violence has been sentenced to 35 years in prison. James Fred Coffen, 46, of Bryans Road, learned his fate this week when Charles County Circuit Court Judge Carrington Martin handed down the sentence for the shooting that killed Logan and 36-year-old Paul Ernest Fleming. What b…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Man Found Dead In Fairfax County Jail Cell Same Morning He Entered Custody, Police Say Virginia Man Found Dead In Fairfax County Jail Cell Same Morning He Entered Custody, Police Say Virginia Man Found Dead In Fairfax County Jail Cell Same Morning He Entered Custody, Police Say
Virginia Man Found Dead In Fairfax County Jail Cell Same Morning He Entered Custody, Police Say A Virginia man was found dead inside his jail cell just hours after being taken into custody, prompting an investigation. Springfield resident Brendan Brown, 38, was found unresponsive in a single-occupancy cell at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center at approximately 7:25 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8, according to Fairfax County Police. Deputies and emergency medical personnel attempted to revive Brown, but he was pronounced dead. Investigators said Brown had been booked into the detention center earlier that same morning, though officials did not specify when he arrived or why he was be…

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by Zak Failla
Nottingham-Perry Hall, MD
Breaking News
Softball Coach From Nottingham Admits Sex Crimes Involving Teen Player He Met When She Was 8 Softball Coach From Nottingham Admits Sex Crimes Involving Teen Player He Met When She Was 8 Softball Coach From Nottingham Admits Sex Crimes Involving Teen Player He Met When She Was 8
Softball Coach From Nottingham Admits Sex Crimes Involving Teen Player He Met When She Was 8 He was supposed to be someone she could trust. Instead, a longtime Maryland softball coach has admitted to sexually exploiting a teenage player he first met when she was just 8 years old. Michael Joseph Pusateri, 59, of Nottingham, pleaded guilty in federal court in Baltimore this week to coercion and enticement of a minor, adding to a separate guilty plea in Baltimore County that already resulted in a 10-year prison sentence. Now, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. According to federal prosecutors, Pusateri groomed the girl through text messages between March and July 2025,…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Baltimore Woman Mistaken For Federal Witness, Murdered In Murder-For-Hire Plot: Feds Baltimore Woman Mistaken For Federal Witness, Murdered In Murder-For-Hire Plot: Feds Baltimore Woman Mistaken For Federal Witness, Murdered In Murder-For-Hire Plot: Feds
Baltimore Woman Mistaken For Federal Witness, Murdered In Murder-For-Hire Plot: Feds Latrina Ashburne wasn't supposed to die. The 41-year-old Maryland woman was shot outside her Baltimore home in May 2016 after being mistaken for her next-door neighbor, a federal witness targeted for murder by a man already behind bars. Now, more than a decade later, the man who arranged the killing has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison. Matthew Hightower, 44, of Baltimore, learned his fate on Thursday, Oct. 8, when US District Judge Stephanie Gallagher handed down the sentence for his role in the murder-for-hire plot that killed Ashburne instead of its intended target. The int…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
Six Manassas Massage Parlors Shut Down After Tip Uncovers Suspected Prostitution Ring: Police Six Manassas Massage Parlors Shut Down After Tip Uncovers Suspected Prostitution Ring: Police Six Manassas Massage Parlors Shut Down After Tip Uncovers Suspected Prostitution Ring: Police
Six Manassas Massage Parlors Shut Down After Tip Uncovers Suspected Prostitution Ring: Police One tip to Crime Solvers was all it took to unravel a suspected prostitution scheme in Virginia that led investigators to six massage parlors and several victims of human trafficking. The Manassas City Police Department led a multi-jurisdictional crackdown dubbed "Operation False Front" on Tuesday, Oct. 6, with investigators executing search and arrest warrants at massage businesses and residential properties in Manassas, Fairfax County, and Prince William County. The investigation led to three arrests and the seizure of several hundred thousand dollars in cash, along with records and other…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
Gunfire Erupts Next Door To Bible Study, Children's Classes In VA: Sheriff Gunfire Erupts Next Door To Bible Study, Children's Classes In VA: Sheriff Gunfire Erupts Next Door To Bible Study, Children's Classes In VA: Sheriff
Gunfire Erupts Next Door To Bible Study, Children's Classes In VA: Sheriff Children were taking part in gym classes and churchgoers were attending Bible study when gunfire erupted in a Virginia parking lot next door. Just steps away from the evening activities, a suspected robbery during a gun sale turned violent in Culpeper County on Wednesday, Oct. 7, leaving two men with gunshot wounds and three facing felony charges. The trouble began shortly before 6:35 p.m. in the 16100 block of Rogers Road, where two men had arranged to meet for a firearm transaction, according to the Culpeper County Sheriff's Office. But someone had other plans. Investigators say a t…

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by Zak Failla
Columbia, MD
Your Community
Alex Dannett Remembered For Infectious Smile After Fatal Maryland Crash: 'Forever 28' Alex Dannett Remembered For Infectious Smile After Fatal Maryland Crash: 'Forever 28' Alex Dannett Remembered For Infectious Smile After Fatal Maryland Crash: 'Forever 28'
Alex Dannett Remembered For Infectious Smile After Fatal Maryland Crash: 'Forever 28' Alex Dannett had the kind of smile that could light up a room. Now, a Maryland family is facing a future without the 28-year-old they loved so dearly. Family and friends are preparing to gather in Anne Arundel County on Friday, Oct. 9, for a candlelight vigil honoring Dannett, who died following a car crash. To those who knew him, Alex was much more than another young life lost on the road. He was a son, grandson, nephew, cousin, and devoted big brother to two younger sisters who face life without him. And to his friends, he was someone whose infectious smile and positive spirit m…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
Bomb Threat Reported At Manassas Juvenile Detention Center, Suspect Assaults Cops: Officials Bomb Threat Reported At Manassas Juvenile Detention Center, Suspect Assaults Cops: Officials Bomb Threat Reported At Manassas Juvenile Detention Center, Suspect Assaults Cops: Officials
Bomb Threat Reported At Manassas Juvenile Detention Center, Suspect Assaults Cops: Officials A 38-year-old man is behind bars after making early-morning threats to blow up a detention center in Northern Virginia, police say. Peshwaz Azad Waise put members of the Prince William County Police Department through their paces during a Thursday morning incident that rapidly escalated. Officers were first called shortly before 2:15 a.m. on Oct. 8 to the Juvenile Detention Center in the 14800 block of Dumfries Road in Manassas following a report of a threatening phone call. Investigators say that Waise called the facility and threatened to blow it up. Waise was then tracked down at his M…

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by Zak Failla
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