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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

Police & Fire
19-Year-Old Shot Stray Bullet That Killed Innocent Teen Girl In Prince George's: Police 19-Year-Old Shot Stray Bullet That Killed Innocent Teen Girl In Prince George's: Police
19-Year-Old Shot Stray Bullet That Killed Innocent Teen Girl In Prince George's: Police A 19-year-old suspect has been taken into custody after firing a stray bullet during an altercation that struck and killed a teen girl in Prince George's County earlier this year, police say. Hyattsville resident Chance Waters has been arrested and charged with the murder of 14-year-old Khamya Ferrell in May. Khamya Ferrell GoFundMe According to police, the Suitland resident was shot on May 31 while inside an apartment on the 6600 block of Atwood Street. Officers responded to the scene around 1:50 p.m. on Friday, May 31, where they found Ferrell and a woman inside, both s…

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by Zak Failla
Business
One Of Three Winning $50K Powerball Tickets Sold At Landover Gas Station One Of Three Winning $50K Powerball Tickets Sold At Landover Gas Station
One Of Three Winning $50K Powerball Tickets Sold At Landover Gas Station Talk about spreading the wealth!  Maryland saw three lucky winners each score $50,000 prizes in the latest Powerball drawing on Monday, Dec. 2, making for some very happy holidays. The third-tier winning tickets were sold in Takoma Park, Pasadena, and Landover at: 7-Eleven, 900 Merrimac Drive, Takoma Park (Montgomery County); John’s Liquor & General Store, 812 Duvall Highway, Pasadena (Anne Arundel County); Landover Hills Exxon, 6579 Annapolis Road, Landover (Prince George’s County). Although no one took home the jackpot, Maryland had 9,459 winners who snagged prizes ranging fr…

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by Zak Failla
Traffic
Fewer Lives Lost: Thanksgiving Traffic Deaths Drop Across Virginia For Third Straight Year Fewer Lives Lost: Thanksgiving Traffic Deaths Drop Across Virginia For Third Straight Year
Fewer Lives Lost: Thanksgiving Traffic Deaths Drop Across Virginia For Third Straight Year Seven people lost their lives in crashes on Virginia roadways over the 2024 Thanksgiving holiday, a significant decrease from previous years, according to Virginia State Police. The five-day period surveyed by officials, which ran from Wednesday, Nov. 27 through Sunday, Dec. 1, saw seven fatal crashes across the state in Bath, Culpeper, Page, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren, and Wythe counties, officials said.  It represents an improvement compared to 11 fatalities in 2023 and a steep drop from 19 in 2022. Among the crashes, only two of the victims were confirmed to have been wearing s…

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by Zak Failla
News
Two Arrested Months After Fatal Hit-And-Run Kills Silver Spring Father: Police Two Arrested Months After Fatal Hit-And-Run Kills Silver Spring Father: Police
Two Arrested Months After Fatal Hit-And-Run Kills Silver Spring Father: Police Two drivers have been arrested months after a fatal hit-and-run in Montgomery County claimed the life of 52-year-old father Ron Franzese, officials announced. Thanh Phan, 71, and Jose Saravia Gonzalez, 27, both of Silver Spring, face charges stemming from the April crash that left Franzese dead on Randolph Road. Around 10:15 p.m. on April 5, police say Franzese was walking along Randolph Road when Phan, driving a Honda Odyssey, jumped the curb and struck him, forcing him into the roadway. Moments later, Saravia Gonzalez, driving a four-door Acura, hit Franzese and fled the scene without st…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Leesburg Barn Blaze Rages Overnight, Threatens Nearby Woods: Fire Officials Leesburg Barn Blaze Rages Overnight, Threatens Nearby Woods: Fire Officials
Leesburg Barn Blaze Rages Overnight, Threatens Nearby Woods: Fire Officials Firefighters in Loudoun County had their hands full early Tuesday morning, battling a raging barn fire that spread to nearby woods in Leesburg. The blaze was reported just before 2 a.m. in the 43300 block of Spinks Ferry Road. Crews from Lucketts, Leesburg, Lovettsville, Lansdowne, Ashburn, and Frederick County, arrived to find a 40-by-40-foot pole barn fully engulfed in flames, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue officials said. Flames had already spread to an adjacent wooded area, forcing crews to launch an aggressive exterior attack on both the structure and the wildfire.  The bulk of t…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Woman Found Dead In Montgomery County Blaze As Firefighters Battled Icy, Cluttered Conditions Woman Found Dead In Montgomery County Blaze As Firefighters Battled Icy, Cluttered Conditions
Woman Found Dead In Montgomery County Blaze As Firefighters Battled Icy, Cluttered Conditions Firefighters faced challenging conditions overnight while battling a house fire in Montgomery County that tragically claimed the life of a woman, officials said. Shortly after midnight, first responders were called to a home near Route 28 and Whites Ferry Road in Boyds after neighbors reported seeing smoke and noted a person might be trapped inside. The fire in Montgomery County. Twitter Upon arrival, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue crews encountered heavy fire conditions. Their entry was delayed due to "excessive storage clutter in the house, what some would say were hoarding con…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Inmate Plots Wife’s Murder From Prison In Chilling Virginia Murder-For-Hire Scheme: Police Inmate Plots Wife’s Murder From Prison In Chilling Virginia Murder-For-Hire Scheme: Police
Inmate Plots Wife’s Murder From Prison In Chilling Virginia Murder-For-Hire Scheme: Police A Virginia inmate is accused of orchestrating a chilling murder-for-hire plot to kill his 23-year-old wife while behind bars, police said. Lionel Melvin Carter III, 34, incarcerated at Sussex State Prison, allegedly conspired with three other men to lure his wife, Egypt Zapporah Carter of Burlington, NC, to a Woodbridge neighborhood on Feb. 2.  She was ambushed and fatally shot while sitting in her vehicle near Bronson Court and Brickwood Drive, police said. The victim was reportedly drawn to the area under the ruse of picking up prescription narcotics for her husband.  Instead,…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Conowingo Woman Charged With Arson After Setting Ex-Boyfriend’s Trailer Ablaze: Fire Marshal Conowingo Woman Charged With Arson After Setting Ex-Boyfriend’s Trailer Ablaze: Fire Marshal
Conowingo Woman Charged With Arson After Setting Ex-Boyfriend’s Trailer Ablaze: Fire Marshal A Cecil County woman is facing multiple arson-related charges after authorities say she intentionally torched her estranged boyfriend's travel trailer, completely destroying it. Krysti Nicole Dabravalskas, 39, was arrested after Maryland State Police and the Office of the State Fire Marshal tied her to the Friday night blaze on Eckman Lane, investigators said in a press release. Troopers initially responded to the property Saturday, Nov. 30, around 7 p.m. for a domestic-related assault involving Dabravalskas in Conowingo, officials said.  During their investigation, witnesses claimed …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Fredericksburg Man Arrested For Sexual Assault Of Minor In Woodbridge: Police Fredericksburg Man Arrested For Sexual Assault Of Minor In Woodbridge: Police
Fredericksburg Man Arrested For Sexual Assault Of Minor In Woodbridge: Police A Fredericksburg man has been charged with sexually assaulting a child in Woodbridge several years ago, Prince William County Police announced on Monday. Detectives launched an investigation after the victim, now older, recently came forward to report the assault, which occurred between September 2016 and September 2018 when she was under the age of 13, police say. The investigation revealed that the suspect, later identified as Anthony Bennett, 30, was known to the victim, and he turned himself in to authorities without incident on Nov. 22, police said. Bennett has been charged with …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Winchester Man Leads Police On Multi-County Chase, Caught After Hiding On Quantico Base Winchester Man Leads Police On Multi-County Chase, Caught After Hiding On Quantico Base
Winchester Man Leads Police On Multi-County Chase, Caught After Hiding On Quantico Base A 40-year-old Winchester man is behind bars after a wild multi-county police chase that ended with him hiding on Quantico Marine Corps Base, officials said. The pursuit began around 10:20 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 30, when a Stafford County deputy spotted a stolen Ford heading south on Richmond Highway near the I-95 ramp.  As the deputy attempted a traffic stop, the driver, later identified as Richard Wolfe, made a U-turn and sped northbound, police said. The pursuit intensified as Wolfe swerved across lanes, passed vehicles over solid yellow lines, and accelerated toward Prince William Co…

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by Zak Failla
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