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

Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Lexington Park Drug Suspect Busted With Bullet In Chamber, Cocaine, Heroin, Sheriff Says Lexington Park Drug Suspect Busted With Bullet In Chamber, Cocaine, Heroin, Sheriff Says Lexington Park Drug Suspect Busted With Bullet In Chamber, Cocaine, Heroin, Sheriff Says
Lexington Park Drug Suspect Busted With Bullet In Chamber, Cocaine, Heroin, Sheriff Says A suspected drug dealer in Maryland was packing heat with a bullet in the chamber when his luck ran out during a sheriff's office investigation, authorities say. Wade Joshua Braithwaite, 33, of Lexington Park, was taken into custody on Columbus Drive on Wednesday, Oct. 14, after detectives investigating suspected drug distribution obtained warrants targeting him, according to the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office. Braithwaite was arrested without incident, but a search turned up a loaded Canik METE MC9 semiautomatic handgun with a round already in the chamber. Deputies also recovered susp…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Teen Driving BMW Involved In Deadly Woodbridge Crash That Killed 83-Year-Old Woman: Police Teen Driving BMW Involved In Deadly Woodbridge Crash That Killed 83-Year-Old Woman: Police Teen Driving BMW Involved In Deadly Woodbridge Crash That Killed 83-Year-Old Woman: Police
Teen Driving BMW Involved In Deadly Woodbridge Crash That Killed 83-Year-Old Woman: Police A teenager driving a BMW was involved in a deadly afternoon crash in Virginia that left an 83-year-old woman dead and two others injured. Sarah Jean Thompson, of Woodbridge, died after the Ford Focus she was riding in collided with a 2023 BMW i4 driven by a 19-year-old woman at the Prince William County intersection on Wednesday afternoon. The crash was reported around 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 14 at the intersection of intersection of Dale Boulevard and Kingsman Road in Woodbridge. Investigators determined that the BMW was traveling along Dale Boulevard toward Kingsman Road when it collided…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
Herndon Teen Bolts From Car During Traffic Stop With Two Loaded Handguns: Fairfax Police Herndon Teen Bolts From Car During Traffic Stop With Two Loaded Handguns: Fairfax Police Herndon Teen Bolts From Car During Traffic Stop With Two Loaded Handguns: Fairfax Police
Herndon Teen Bolts From Car During Traffic Stop With Two Loaded Handguns: Fairfax Police A Virginia teenager apparently had more to worry about than a friend's speeding ticket when he took off running from police with two loaded handguns allegedly tucked into his waistband. The late-night encounter unfolded around 11:12 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, when Fairfax County detectives stopped a speeding vehicle near the intersection of Centreville Road and Frying Pan Road in the Fair Oaks area. Behind the wheel was a 17-year-old driver, but it was his passenger who quickly became the focus of the investigation. As the driver pulled over, police say Jefry Bonilla Serrano, 18, of Herndon,…

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by Zak Failla
Hyattsville, MD
Breaking News
MURDER-SUICIDE: Missing Hyattsville Woman Found In Car, Man She Knew Found Dead In Home MURDER-SUICIDE: Missing Hyattsville Woman Found In Car, Man She Knew Found Dead In Home MURDER-SUICIDE: Missing Hyattsville Woman Found In Car, Man She Knew Found Dead In Home
Murder-suicide: Missing Hyattsville Woman Found In Car, Man She Knew Found Dead In Home A woman who was reported missing on Monday was found dead a day later in a purported murder-suicide in Maryland. Police say a suspect was found dead inside his home following the grisly discovery of 29-year-old Hyattsville resident Carias Garcia, who had been reported missing on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Officers were called around 12:20 p.m. on Wednesday to a parking lot in the 2000 block of University Boulevard, where there were reports of an unresponsive person inside a vehicle. Upon arrival, they found Carias Garcia's body inside her own vehicle, suffering from traumatic injuries. She was pr…

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by Zak Failla
Elkton, MD
Your Community
11 Years Behind The Wheel, One Kitten Rescue: Harford County Bus Driver Loses Job 11 Years Behind The Wheel, One Kitten Rescue: Harford County Bus Driver Loses Job 11 Years Behind The Wheel, One Kitten Rescue: Harford County Bus Driver Loses Job
11 Years Behind The Wheel, One Kitten Rescue: Harford County Bus Driver Loses Job Helping a helpless kitten on the side of a Maryland road has cost a longtime school bus driver her livelihood. Now, thousands of people in the surrounding community are fighting to get her back behind the wheel. Cynthia Morgan, 67, had spent 11 years transporting students in Harford County before she was removed from her North Harford Elementary School route after allowing a 10-year-old boy to rescue an injured kitten along Heaps School Road in Pylesville. What began as a roadside act of kindness has since grown into a controversy drawing national attention. More than 11,000 people have s…

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by Zak Failla
Chantilly, VA
Breaking News
Herndon Teen's Fentanyl-For-Gun Deal Ends With Much Bigger Bust In Chantilly: Fairfax Police Herndon Teen's Fentanyl-For-Gun Deal Ends With Much Bigger Bust In Chantilly: Fairfax Police Herndon Teen's Fentanyl-For-Gun Deal Ends With Much Bigger Bust In Chantilly: Fairfax Police
Herndon Teen's Fentanyl-For-Gun Deal Ends With Much Bigger Bust In Chantilly: Fairfax Police What started as a deal for a teen to trade 50 fentanyl pills for a handgun led to a massive bust by undercover officers in Northern Virginia. Herndon resident Alhaji Sorie Kamara, 19, is behind bars following an investigation launched last week in Chantilly, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. The probe began on Monday, Oct. 5, when the agency's Violent Crimes Suppression Unit started looking into narcotics dealing and firearms distribution in the region. Police say that during the investigation, detectives determined that Kamara agreed to exchange 50 suspected fentanyl pill…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Six Weeks Of Freedom: DC Man's Parking Blunder Exposes Another Loaded Glock, Feds Say Six Weeks Of Freedom: DC Man's Parking Blunder Exposes Another Loaded Glock, Feds Say Six Weeks Of Freedom: DC Man's Parking Blunder Exposes Another Loaded Glock, Feds Say
Six Weeks Of Freedom: DC Man's Parking Blunder Exposes Another Loaded Glock, Feds Say Six weeks after getting out of prison for illegally carrying a loaded Glock, Sequan Collier was back behind bars. A poor parking job doomed the 29-year-old District man, who had previously been convicted on weapons charges and served nearly two years in prison before being busted again just weeks after being let out. This time, he was sentenced to 29 months in federal prison after he was caught by members of the Metropolitan Police Department while illegally parked with two other armed men in March 2025, according to federal authorities. Court documents say that at around 1:45 a.m. on Marc…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Baltimore Cops Found Guilty After Assault, False Claims: 'I Maced Him Like Four Times' Baltimore Cops Found Guilty After Assault, False Claims: 'I Maced Him Like Four Times' Baltimore Cops Found Guilty After Assault, False Claims: 'I Maced Him Like Four Times'
Baltimore Cops Found Guilty After Assault, False Claims: 'I Maced Him Like Four Times' A Maryland police officer who tripped over his own feet blamed a fleeing man for the fall, setting off a chain of events that would ultimately land him and a fellow cop in court. Baltimore Police Officers Mordechai Mandelbaum and Menachem Rosenbloom were found guilty on multiple charges on Wednesday, Oct. 14, following an encounter that ended with a surrendering man being pepper-sprayed four times and officers making false claims about what happened. The incident began on June 26, 2025, when the officers responded to a call in the 700 block of East Chase Street and discovered that a man had…

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
Two Men Shot Behind Maryland Tavern In Dead Of Night, Waldorf Man Charged Two Men Shot Behind Maryland Tavern In Dead Of Night, Waldorf Man Charged Two Men Shot Behind Maryland Tavern In Dead Of Night, Waldorf Man Charged
Two Men Shot Behind Maryland Tavern In Dead Of Night, Waldorf Man Charged Two men standing behind a Maryland tavern in the middle of the night suddenly found themselves in the line of fire when a gunman allegedly approached and began shooting, leaving one fighting for his life. The shooting happened around 2:5 a.m. on June 20 behind a tavern and liquor store in Waldorf, where Charles County Sheriff's Office investigators say Terrell Anthony Burgess, 36, walked up to the men and fired multiple shots without warning. One of the men was struck several times, while the other was grazed by a bullet. Officers arriving at the business found the more seriously wounded v…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Lottery Ticket Robbery Left Two Dead, But Virginia Suspect Wasn't Finished, Feds Say Lottery Ticket Robbery Left Two Dead, But Virginia Suspect Wasn't Finished, Feds Say Lottery Ticket Robbery Left Two Dead, But Virginia Suspect Wasn't Finished, Feds Say
Lottery Ticket Robbery Left Two Dead, But Virginia Suspect Wasn't Finished, Feds Say Two convenience store employees were allegedly gunned down during a robbery for lottery tickets in Virginia, and more than four years later, federal prosecutors have charged a man with their murders. Newport News resident Jordan Isaiah Pierce, 24, was charged in a superseding federal indictment returned on Wednesday, Oct. 14, in connection with the deadly June 2022 robbery that investigators say was followed by another armed holdup less than a month later. According to federal prosecutors, Pierce and an accomplice targeted a convenience store on Kiln Creek Parkway in Newport News on June 15…

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by Zak Failla
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