Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

[email protected]

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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

Arlington, VA
Breaking News
20+ Shots, Boy Wounded Playing Basketball, Teen DC Gunman Walks Free With Probation: Feds 20+ Shots, Boy Wounded Playing Basketball, Teen DC Gunman Walks Free With Probation: Feds 20+ Shots, Boy Wounded Playing Basketball, Teen DC Gunman Walks Free With Probation: Feds
20+ Shots, Boy Wounded Playing Basketball, Teen DC Gunman Walks Free With Probation: Feds More than 20 gunshots rang out across a DC neighborhood, leaving a boy playing basketball wounded.  The gunman won't spend another day behind bars. Darius Drew, 19, of DC, walked out of custody on Friday, Nov. 13, after a judge suspended his two-year prison sentence and placed him on probation for the shooting that sent bullets flying across a Northwest DC court in May. Federal prosecutors had pushed for five years behind bars, arguing that Drew's decision to fire more than 20 rounds from two different locations warranted the maximum sentence under his guidelines. Instead, DC Superio…

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by Zak Failla
Stafford, VA
Breaking News
Stafford Woman Who Works As Fairfax County Cop Accused Of Shoplifting At Walmart: Police Stafford Woman Who Works As Fairfax County Cop Accused Of Shoplifting At Walmart: Police Stafford Woman Who Works As Fairfax County Cop Accused Of Shoplifting At Walmart: Police
Stafford Woman Who Works As Fairfax County Cop Accused Of Shoplifting At Walmart: Police A Virginia police officer found herself on the wrong side of the law after allegedly skipping a few steps at a Walmart self-checkout register. Briceida Medina, 38, of Stafford, a three-year veteran of the Fairfax County Police Department assigned to the McLean District Station, was charged with misdemeanor shoplifting following an incident at a Stafford County Walmart. Deputies from the Stafford County Sheriff's Office were called around 12:37 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10, to the Walmart at 217 Garrisonville Road following a report of shoplifting. According to Fairfax County police, loss preve…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Dog Shot Dead, Woman Wounded During Confrontation Near Virginia Motel: Sheriff Dog Shot Dead, Woman Wounded During Confrontation Near Virginia Motel: Sheriff Dog Shot Dead, Woman Wounded During Confrontation Near Virginia Motel: Sheriff
Dog Shot Dead, Woman Wounded During Confrontation Near Virginia Motel: Sheriff A Virginia woman survived being shot in the stomach during a confrontation near a motel, but her dog wasn't as fortunate. Micari Green, 40, was arrested on Thursday afternoon following a reported shooting in the 10500 block of Patriot Highway that ended with a dog dead and a woman wounded in Spotsylvania. Shortly before 5:20 p.m. on Nov. 12, members of the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office responded to the shooting, where they found a 43-year-old woman suffering from a gunshot wound. She was treated at the scene before being transported to a local hospital, where she is recovering. Her dog was…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
Fairfax County Band Director Arrested On Child Porn Charges After Student Complaint: Police Fairfax County Band Director Arrested On Child Porn Charges After Student Complaint: Police Fairfax County Band Director Arrested On Child Porn Charges After Student Complaint: Police
Fairfax County Band Director Arrested On Child Porn Charges After Student Complaint: Police A Virginia school band director's alleged inappropriate conduct toward a student set off an investigation that ended with detectives uncovering child sexual abuse material and the veteran educator behind bars. Aaron Morgan, 38, of Fairfax, had worked for the county's public school system for a decade before his arrest on Thursday, Nov. 12, according to police. The investigation began two days earlier, when school officials alerted Fairfax County Police to concerns about Morgan's alleged behavior toward a student. What began as an investigation into those allegations led detectives with the…

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by Zak Failla
Germantown, MD
Breaking News
'I Can't Breathe': Maryland Officers Won't Face Charges After Man's Death Ruled Homicide 'I Can't Breathe': Maryland Officers Won't Face Charges After Man's Death Ruled Homicide 'I Can't Breathe': Maryland Officers Won't Face Charges After Man's Death Ruled Homicide
'I Can't Breathe': Maryland Officers Won't Face Charges After Man's Death Ruled Homicide A Maryland man's death was ruled a homicide. Seven police officers were involved. Not one will face criminal charges. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced on Friday, Nov. 13, that no charges will be filed in connection with the death of Jamal Khari Thompson, 31, of Silver Spring. Thompson died a week after a struggle with Montgomery County police officers responding to reports that he was experiencing a mental health crisis. According to the Attorney General's investigative report, a friend called 911 around 8 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 15, requesting an ambulance at The Chateau apa…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Bad Neighbor: Maryland Man Accused Of Torching Home Of Sheriff's Deputy With Police K-9 Bad Neighbor: Maryland Man Accused Of Torching Home Of Sheriff's Deputy With Police K-9 Bad Neighbor: Maryland Man Accused Of Torching Home Of Sheriff's Deputy With Police K-9
Bad Neighbor: Maryland Man Accused Of Torching Home Of Sheriff's Deputy With Police K-9 Andrew Lee Ransley allegedly set fire to his neighbor's Maryland home. He may have picked the wrong neighbor. The 38-year-old Pittsville man is facing a host of charges after investigators determined that a fire at the home of a Wicomico County sheriff's deputy who handles a police K-9 was deliberately set, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office. The trouble began shortly before 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12, when firefighters were called to a home in the 35000 block of Wango Road in Pittsville. Crews had the fire under control within 10 minutes, but not before the flames…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Man 'In Position Of Trust' Convicted Of Raping Child Under 14 Living Under His Roof Maryland Man 'In Position Of Trust' Convicted Of Raping Child Under 14 Living Under His Roof Maryland Man 'In Position Of Trust' Convicted Of Raping Child Under 14 Living Under His Roof
Maryland Man 'In Position Of Trust' Convicted Of Raping Child Under 14 Living Under His Roof A Maryland man has been convicted of sexually abusing a child younger than 14 who lived in his own home. Widler Etienne, 27, of Salisbury, was found guilty on multiple sex offense and assault charges following a two-day trial in Wicomico County Circuit Court, State's Attorney Jamie Dykes announced. Prosecutors said the abuse occurred in 2025, when the child was living in the same household as Etienne. The child later took the stand and testified against Etienne, helping secure the jury's guilty verdict on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Etienne was convicted of: Sexual abuse of a minor; Two counts of…

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by Zak Failla
Gaithersburg, MD
Breaking News
Violent Attack Inside Montgomery County Jail Turns Deadly As Police Identify Victim (UPDATED) Violent Attack Inside Montgomery County Jail Turns Deadly As Police Identify Victim (UPDATED) Violent Attack Inside Montgomery County Jail Turns Deadly As Police Identify Victim (UPDATED)
Violent Attack Inside Montgomery County Jail Turns Deadly As Police Identify Victim (Updated) A violent attack inside a Maryland jail has turned deadly, with police identifying the 35-year-old victim who succumbed to his injuries a day later. Carlos Marcano Becerra, who had no fixed address, died on Thursday, Nov. 12, one day after he was found with severe injuries to his head and upper body at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Boyds, according to police. Officers and fire rescue personnel were called around 11:12 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 11, to the facility in the 22800 block of Whelan Lane, where they discovered Becerra suffering from severe trauma, officials said. He…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Obituaries
Mother In Honduras Pleads For Help Bringing Son Home After Deadly Virginia Crash Mother In Honduras Pleads For Help Bringing Son Home After Deadly Virginia Crash Mother In Honduras Pleads For Help Bringing Son Home After Deadly Virginia Crash
Mother In Honduras Pleads For Help Bringing Son Home After Deadly Virginia Crash A mother thousands of miles away is fighting to bring her son home after a deadly crash in Virginia. Henrico resident Manuel Cortez Pineda, 31, was killed around 2:25 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, when he was struck by a Dodge Durango on Staples Mill Road near Bremner Boulevard, according to the Henrico Police Department. Investigators say the SUV was traveling east on Staples Mill Road when it struck Pineda, who was standing in the roadway. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver remained at the scene, but a fundraiser launched on Pineda's family's behalf claims the motorist was uni…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Shotgun, Rifle, Handgun: Police Reveal New Details In Deadly DC Doctor Shooting Shotgun, Rifle, Handgun: Police Reveal New Details In Deadly DC Doctor Shooting Shotgun, Rifle, Handgun: Police Reveal New Details In Deadly DC Doctor Shooting
Shotgun, Rifle, Handgun: Police Reveal New Details In Deadly DC Doctor Shooting A DC doctor had three guns at his disposal during a deadly shooting rampage in Northwest Washington, but none were registered to him in the District, police revealed. Matt Wade Lambert, 55, was identified as the gunman who killed 46-year-old James Stuart and wounded four others on Thursday, Nov. 12, near VIDA Fitness in the 1500 block of 15th Street NW, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Investigators recovered a shotgun, rifle, and handgun from Lambert's apartment, and police confirmed that all three weapons were used in the shooting. None were registered to Lambert in DC, t…

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by Zak Failla
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