Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

zfailla@dailyvoice.com

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

Shooter Sentenced For Murdering Man After Altercation With Son In Waldorf Shooter Sentenced For Murdering Man After Altercation With Son In Waldorf
Shooter Sentenced For Murdering Man After Altercation With Son In Waldorf A man will spend 35 years in prison for shooting his victim more than two dozen times after getting into an altercation with his son, the Charles County State's Attorney's Office announced. Mehki Joseph Smith, 24, of Waldorf, was sentenced to life in prison with all but 35 years suspended in connection to the murder of 60-year-old Michael Anthony Dodson, Sr. in October 2022. Dodson, a Waldorf resident, was identified as the victim who was found shot several times and killed at approximately 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 25, 2022 in the 2500 block of Old Washington Road in his hometown, according t…
Pug Killed, Passenger Dies Days After Alcohol-Fueled Crash In Manassas: Cops Pug Killed, Passenger Dies Days After Alcohol-Fueled Crash In Manassas: Cops
Pug Killed, Passenger Dies Days After Alcohol-Fueled Crash In Manassas: Cops A woman has died at an area hospital nearly two weeks after a crash in Prince William County caused by a driver believed to have been drinking, police said. Manassas resident Jessica Lynn Randall, 32, died on Friday, April 26 in connection with a crash on Monday, April 15 at 2:30 p.m., county police said. Randall was a passenger in a 1993 Buick Roadmaster driven by a 46-year-old Manassas man heading east on Yates Ford Road, police said. The driver entered the intersection of Evans Ford Road, into the path of a 2012 Dodge Ram 2500, police said. Yates Ford Road near Evans Ford Ro…
'Stunning' Sentence Stupifies Prosecutors After Murder Conviction In Montgomery County 'Stunning' Sentence Stupifies Prosecutors After Murder Conviction In Montgomery County
'Stunning' Sentence Stupifies Prosecutors After Murder Conviction In Montgomery County Prosecutors in Montgomery County are up in arms after a convicted murderer received what is being perceived as a light sentence. District resident Tyrone Curtis, 35, was sentenced by a judge on Friday to life in prison, with all but 15 years suspended after being convicted in January of the first-degree murder of 29-year-old Amontae Cunningham on a Metro Transit bus. “The State sought a life sentence in this case and finds an executed sentence of 15 years to be stunning," Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy said. "It is inconsistent with the facts of the case and the verdict re…
Dealer Admits To Distributing Enough Fentanyl To Kill 32K People In Maryland: Feds Dealer Admits To Distributing Enough Fentanyl To Kill 32K People In Maryland: Feds
Dealer Admits To Distributing Enough Fentanyl To Kill 32K People In Maryland: Feds The Maryland drug dealer who was busted with enough fentanyl to possibly kill 32,000 people has copped to the crime and faces decades in prison, federal authorities announced. Baltimore resident Robert "Glass" Frazier, Jr., 42, pleaded guilty this week conspiracy to possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana after putting police through their paces when he attempted to avoid an eviction. According to his plea agreement, police conducted an eviction at Frazier's apartment in 2021, but in an effort to evade capture, he assaulted a Baltimore Sheriff's Officer…
Woman Wanted For Metro Bus Assault, Robbery At Large In Montgomery County: Police Woman Wanted For Metro Bus Assault, Robbery At Large In Montgomery County: Police
Woman Wanted For Metro Bus Assault, Robbery At Large In Montgomery County: Police Recognize her?  An alert was issued by the Montgomery County Department of Police on Friday as they seek the public's assistance in identifying and locating a woman wanted for an assault and robbery last month on a Metro bus. In the afternoon of Thursday, March 7, police say that officers were called to the area of Dawson Avenue and Georgia Avenue to investigate a reported altercation that turned physical, police say. According to investigators, shortly before 3:45 p.m. on the day of the robbery, the victim was on a Metro bus when the wanted woman came on board.  There was an al…
Alexandria Man Who Carjacked Uber Eats Driver's Scooter Near DC Pizza Hut Gets Prison Time Alexandria Man Who Carjacked Uber Eats Driver's Scooter Near DC Pizza Hut Gets Prison Time
Alexandria Man Who Carjacked Uber Eats Driver's Scooter Near DC Pizza Hut Gets Prison Time The Alexandria man who carjacked an Uber Eats driver and stole his motorized scooter last summer outside a DC Pizza Hut is heading to prison for years, officials say. Daquan Skipper, 27, was sentenced this week to eight years in prison for the July 2023 robbery of the driver, when he took his scooter and cell phone in Northeast DC. Prosecutors say that on July 29, 2023, outside of a Pizza Hut in the 1500 block of Maryland Avenue NE, Skipper and two others approached the delivery driver after he had just picked up an order. As he was putting his phone onto a holder on his handlebars, the th…
Pedestrian Struck On Train Tracks In Prince George's County: Laurel Police (DEVELOPING) Pedestrian Struck On Train Tracks In Prince George's County: Laurel Police (DEVELOPING)
Pedestrian Struck On Train Tracks In Prince George's County: Laurel Police (Developing) There is going to be a heavy police presence in Laurel on Friday afternoon after a pedestrian was struck on the train tracks. Members of the Laurel Police Department were called to the area of Main Street and Lafayette Avenue at around 1 p.m. on April 26 to investigate reports of a person who had been struck. No other details were released by the police. More information is expected to be provided as the investigation continues. This is a developing story. Check Daily Voice for updates. Want breaking news in the DMV as it happens, or want to contribute? Join the DMV All Incidents Facebook…
Stunned Business Owner From Bowie Still Shocked At $50K Maryland Lottery Scratch-Off Win Stunned Business Owner From Bowie Still Shocked At $50K Maryland Lottery Scratch-Off Win
Stunned Business Owner From Bowie Still Shocked At $50K Maryland Lottery Scratch-Off Win A business owner who likes to relax after a long day of work with some scratch-off Lottery tickets can kick up her shoes and take a breather after claiming a $50,000 prize this week. Bowie resident "Bren Bren," a veteran Lottery player who enjoys her scratchers is feeling lucky after picking up a $50,000 Cash ticket that led to a five-figure jackpot.  The woman says that she's been playing the Lottery for at least three years, but only when she gets the itch and is feeling lucky, though she told officials that the $50,000 win is something she could not have imagined. According to "Bre…
DC Purse Snatcher Trailed Victim Before Assault, Robbery In Frederick, Police Say DC Purse Snatcher Trailed Victim Before Assault, Robbery In Frederick, Police Say
DC Purse Snatcher Trailed Victim Before Assault, Robbery In Frederick, Police Say A purse snatcher from DC who targeted her victim and stalked her prey before a Frederick robbery is back in Maryland to face criminal charges, police say. District resident Nola Ann Michelle Bens, 59, is behind bars in Frederick County after she was arrested in Alexandria in connection to a February assault and robbery that left a woman with "significant injuries."  According to police, on Wednesday, Feb. 21, officers were called to the area of South Carroll Street and Carroll Creek in Frederick to investigate a reported robbery involving two women. The victim told investigators …
DMV Native Caleb Williams Picked First Overall In NFL Draft DMV Native Caleb Williams Picked First Overall In NFL Draft
DMV Native Caleb Williams Picked First Overall In NFL Draft The worst-kept secret in sports is out of the bag and DMV-native Caleb Williams is heading to the NFL after being picked with the first overall pick in Thursday's NFL Draft.  Williams, 22, a graduate of Gonzaga College High School - where he was named the Washington, DC Gatorade Football Player of the Year - was the obvious choice, and the Chicago Bears made it official on April 25. After starting as a backup behind Spencer Rattler at Oklahoma, Williams transferred to USC, where he starred under quarterback guru Lincoln Riley - his former coach with the Sooners. The 2022 Heisman Troph…
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