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Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

zfailla@dailyvoice.com

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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

Business
USPS Worker From DC Wins $1M On Scratcher Bought At 7-Eleven Next To Maryland Post Office USPS Worker From DC Wins $1M On Scratcher Bought At 7-Eleven Next To Maryland Post Office
USPS Worker From DC Wins $1M On Scratcher Bought At 7-Eleven Next To Maryland Post Office What started as a random pitstop to pick up Lottery scratchers for a postal worker from DC ended with a $1 million jackpot win on a ticket purchased in Anne Arundel County. The District man, who says he frequently makes his way into Maryland to play Lottery games, is feeling lucky after picking up a winning Millionaire's Club scratcher that was purchased at 7-Eleven at 4450 Solomons Island Road in Harwood, ironically attached to a post office. After purchasing a menagerie of instant tickets, he headed home to play them, and, sure enough, he matched the winning number "54" with the corr…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Murderer Who Threatened To Torch Maryland Townhouse Sentenced For Arson, Probation Violation Murderer Who Threatened To Torch Maryland Townhouse Sentenced For Arson, Probation Violation
Murderer Who Threatened To Torch Maryland Townhouse Sentenced For Arson, Probation Violation A firebug who violated the terms of his probation on a murder conviction is going to spend the rest of his life in prison after setting fire to a Maryland townhouse during a dispute last year. Byron Alton Bowie, Jr., who was convicted of murder in 1992, was sentenced to 30 years in prison following an arson incident in Frederick last year when he threatened to "burn everything down and kill everyone inside," authorities announced. Neighbors said that there was an altercation involving Bowie in November 2023, who was locked out of a townhouse, and he was then spotted on the back deck shoutin…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Sleepy Man No Stranger To DUIs Busted For Number Seven Outside Fredericksburg Hotel: Sheriff Sleepy Man No Stranger To DUIs Busted For Number Seven Outside Fredericksburg Hotel: Sheriff
Sleepy Man No Stranger To DUIs Busted For Number Seven Outside Fredericksburg Hotel: Sheriff An ill-fated trip from Georgia to Virginia took a man from the comforts of a Fredericksburg Holiday Inn to the cold confines of the Rappahannock Regional Jail, according to the Stafford County Sheriff's Office. No stranger to law enforcement, 35-year-old Hassan Naeem is facing yet another DUI offense in the past 10 years after getting behind the wheel and subsequently taking a leisurely nap with a Mike's Hard Lemonade before he was stirred by responding deputies. First responders were called at around 3:45 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15 to the hotel at 20 Sanford Drive in Fredericksburg, whe…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
DUI Driver In Stafford Had BAC More Than Double Legal Limit With Unbuckled Kids In Car: Sheriff DUI Driver In Stafford Had BAC More Than Double Legal Limit With Unbuckled Kids In Car: Sheriff
DUI Driver In Stafford Had BAC More Than Double Legal Limit With Unbuckled Kids In Car: Sheriff Sunday Funday took on a new meaning for a man busted driving with a blood alcohol concentration more than double the legal limit in the middle of the day with children in the car, according to the sheriff's office. Stafford resident Martin Magallanes, 55, had to be taken off the roadway by deputies on Sunday afternoon after they were called to investigate reports of a suspected drunk driver who was spotted swerving from lane to lane, drawing the attention of a Park Police officer. According to a Stafford County Sheriff's Office spokesperson, a deputy was called to the area of Garrisonv…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
Spark From Welder, Grinder, Causes $1M In Damage At Academies Of Loudoun: Fire Marshal Spark From Welder, Grinder, Causes $1M In Damage At Academies Of Loudoun: Fire Marshal
Spark From Welder, Grinder, Causes $1M In Damage At Academies Of Loudoun: Fire Marshal Debris from a welder inside a classroom at the Academies of Loudoun magnet school in Leesburg on Tuesday afternoon is likely to blame for the $1 million fire that broke out, officials say. At around 1 p.m. on Sept. 17, the Loudoun County Emergency Communications Center received an emergency call from the alarm company reporting a pull-station activation at the school, an the SRO assigned to the school reported a heavy smoke area in the boiler room reported the situation a minute later. Loudoun County Fire and Rescue crews and several neighboring agencies responded to the scene, where they f…

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by Zak Failla
News
Fugitive Wanted For Murdering 18-Year-Old Woman In Manassas Busted By Feds In MA, Police Say Fugitive Wanted For Murdering 18-Year-Old Woman In Manassas Busted By Feds In MA, Police Say
Fugitive Wanted For Murdering 18-Year-Old Woman In Manassas Busted By Feds In MA, Police Say A suspect has been arrested more than a month after an 18-year-old woman was found shot to death near a wooded area over the summer in Prince William County, police say. Ashlin Yamileth Paz, who has no fixed address, was found with fatal gunshot wounds in Manassas in August in what "does not appear to be a random" incident. On Wednesday, Aug 14, detectives announced that they have identified 20-year-old German Joseth Torres Lizama as a suspect who is now wanted for murder and other offenses. A blue Hyundai Elantra that was sought in connection to the investigation was also found in Fairfax…

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by Zak Failla
News
Desperate, Reckless, Wrong-Way Driver Sentenced For Chase From Loudoun To Fairfax County Desperate, Reckless, Wrong-Way Driver Sentenced For Chase From Loudoun To Fairfax County
Desperate, Reckless, Wrong-Way Driver Sentenced For Chase From Loudoun To Fairfax County A Leesburg man who was super-powered by methamphetamine during a wild police chase that spanned more than 30 minutes through multiple counties was given a sentence above the state's guidelines, authorities announced. Joseph Christopher Daniel has been sentenced to more than six years in prison following an investigation into a reported stolen motorcycle and multiple instances of eluding that led to warrants for his arrest.  According to the Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney, late in October 2023, Daniel took police on a harrowing high-speed chase from Loudoun into Fairfax that "te…

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by Zak Failla
Traffic
One BMW Motorcyclist From PA Killed, Second Hospitalized Crashing In Maryland: State Police One BMW Motorcyclist From PA Killed, Second Hospitalized Crashing In Maryland: State Police
One BMW Motorcyclist From PA Killed, Second Hospitalized Crashing In Maryland: State Police One biker from Pennsylvania was killed and another suffered serious injuries when they crashed their BMW motorcycles while riding in Maryland over the weekend, state police say. New details have been released by detectives as they continue to probe the Saturday afternoon crash that claimed the life of 50-year-old Dover resident Jason Irizarry, and left Columbia native Andrew Strube, 49, hospitalized. According to police, shortly before 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 14, troopers responded to a stretch of the southbound lanes on Route 50 in Worcester County near Hall Road, where there was a reported cra…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Murder Suspects Using U-Haul As Getaway Vehicle In Waldorf Quickly Apprehended, Sheriff Says Murder Suspects Using U-Haul As Getaway Vehicle In Waldorf Quickly Apprehended, Sheriff Says
Murder Suspects Using U-Haul As Getaway Vehicle In Waldorf Quickly Apprehended, Sheriff Says Two suspects failed to get away in a U-Haul truck after fatally shooting a 44-year-old District man in a midday Charles County argument, according to the sheriff's office. Rayvon Gordon, 50, and Anton Jermain Wood, 22, are both facing murder and other charges in connection to the fatal shooting of Antione Jerome Whitaker, who was found shot to death in Waldorf earlier this week. Investigators from the Charles County Sheriff's Office says that at around 1:20 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16, officers were called to the 11600 block of Lewisham Place to investigate a reported shooting, where they foun…

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by Zak Failla
News
Man Who Shot Victim In Head After Argument During Maryland Event Sentenced For Murder: Police Man Who Shot Victim In Head After Argument During Maryland Event Sentenced For Murder: Police
Man Who Shot Victim In Head After Argument During Maryland Event Sentenced For Murder: Police A man who admitted to the fatal shooting of a father of three last summer in Frederick will spend decades in prison after pleading guilty to murder, authorities announced on Tuesday afternoon. Jeffrey Whitney Bryan, Jr., 31, was arrested in February by members of the Frederick Police Department following a lengthy investigation into the fatal shooting of Governor Thomas Johnson High School grad Tayquan Palmer in July 2023. On Thursday, July 11, the Frederick County State's Attorney's Office announced that Bryan pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, which was accepted by a judge, officials …

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by Zak Failla
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