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

Fredericksburg, VA
Your Community
Lottery Player Wins $1M While Grabbing Drink At Virginia Mart: Wife Reacts With Three Words Lottery Player Wins $1M While Grabbing Drink At Virginia Mart: Wife Reacts With Three Words Lottery Player Wins $1M While Grabbing Drink At Virginia Mart: Wife Reacts With Three Words
Lottery Player Wins $1M While Grabbing Drink At Virginia Mart: Wife Reacts With Three Words A Virginia man went out for a drink and came home with a million dollars. His wife wasn't buying it. An anonymous Martinsville man turned an ordinary convenience store run into an extraordinary payday when he bought a Virginia Lottery scratcher worth $1 million, then went home to share the news with his skeptical spouse. Her response? "Get out of here!" According to Virginia Lottery officials, the lucky winner stopped at the Fas Mart at 110 S. Brookdale Street in Martinsville to grab something to drink when he decided to try his luck. "Well, let me get a ticket," he recalled thinking. T…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Murdered For A Passport: Virginia Mother Gunned Down In Child Support Plot, Feds Say Murdered For A Passport: Virginia Mother Gunned Down In Child Support Plot, Feds Say Murdered For A Passport: Virginia Mother Gunned Down In Child Support Plot, Feds Say
Murdered For A Passport: Virginia Mother Gunned Down In Child Support Plot, Feds Say A Virginia woman was murdered over unpaid child support. The man who ordered her killing thought it would solve his problems. Instead, it left a 9-year-old child calling 911 after witnessing a murder, and nearly a decade later, the man responsible is facing life in federal prison. Antwan Denetrick Hue, 42, was convicted by a federal jury on Wednesday, Oct. 28, of arranging the December 2016 murder of his child's mother at her Norfolk home, according to federal prosecutors. The reason? He wanted a new passport. Hue was running an international cocaine trafficking operation when he attempte…

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by Zak Failla
College Park, MD
Breaking News
MURDER: Man Slain In College Park Home During Predawn Attack, Police Say MURDER: Man Slain In College Park Home During Predawn Attack, Police Say MURDER: Man Slain In College Park Home During Predawn Attack, Police Say
Murder: Man Slain In College Park Home During Predawn Attack, Police Say A predawn stabbing turned deadly in Maryland when a man was found murdered inside a home, sparking a homicide investigation that police say does not appear to involve a random attack. Prince George's County Police officers were called to the 9900 block of 51st Terrace in College Park at approximately 4:15 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, where they found a man suffering from severe injuries inside the residence. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Homicide detectives were called in to investigate, and in a Thursday morning update, police said preliminary findings suggest the killing was…

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by Zak Failla
Lanham-Seabrook, MD
Obituaries
Maryland Father Faces Every Parent's Worst Nightmare After Daughter Killed On Lanham Walk Maryland Father Faces Every Parent's Worst Nightmare After Daughter Killed On Lanham Walk Maryland Father Faces Every Parent's Worst Nightmare After Daughter Killed On Lanham Walk
Maryland Father Faces Every Parent's Worst Nightmare After Daughter Killed On Lanham Walk A Maryland custodian known for helping his coworkers is now the one who needs their help after his daughter was struck and killed during an evening walk. Officers from the Prince George's County Police Department were called around 11:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23, to the 8800 block of Greenbelt Road, where they found Lakeshia Reed, 53, after she was struck by a vehicle. The Lanham resident was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders. Police say the driver involved was uninjured and stayed at the scene to assist with the officers' investigation. Following the fatal crash, friends and…

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by Zak Failla
Leesburg, VA
Breaking News
Leesburg Man Claims Self-Defense, But Cops Say He Returned To Shoot Up Car Near School: Police Leesburg Man Claims Self-Defense, But Cops Say He Returned To Shoot Up Car Near School: Police Leesburg Man Claims Self-Defense, But Cops Say He Returned To Shoot Up Car Near School: Police
Leesburg Man Claims Self-Defense, But Cops Say He Returned To Shoot Up Car Near School: Police A Virginia man who claimed he fired a gun in self-defense during an early-morning fight instead returned to the scene and shot up an empty vehicle near a school, police say. Trevon M. Taylor, 29, of Leesburg, was arrested on Wednesday, Oct. 28, following an investigation into the Oct. 17 shooting in the 500 block of East Market Street, according to the Leesburg Police Department. The investigation began when Taylor contacted police around 9:30 a.m. that morning, reporting that several people had assaulted him during an altercation between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. Taylor initially told investigato…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Killer Couldn't Keep His Secret: 20-Year-Old Murder Mystery Finally Cracked Maryland Killer Couldn't Keep His Secret: 20-Year-Old Murder Mystery Finally Cracked Maryland Killer Couldn't Keep His Secret: 20-Year-Old Murder Mystery Finally Cracked
Maryland Killer Couldn't Keep His Secret: 20-Year-Old Murder Mystery Finally Cracked A Maryland murder went unsolved for nearly 20 years, but the man responsible apparently had trouble keeping his secret. Tyrone Hughey, 44, of Salisbury, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Tuesday, Oct. 20, in the 2006 stabbing death of Denise Horsey, whose screams for help led police to a Salisbury alley. Officers responding to reports of a woman screaming for help around 6:15 a.m. on April 8, 2006, found Horsey suffering from multiple stab wounds in an alley behind 306 Naylor St. She was rushed to Peninsula Regional Medical Center, where she died from her injuries. Despite an inves…

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by Zak Failla
Reisterstown, MD
Breaking News
From South Korea To Baltimore: 15 Charged In Massive Meth, Party Drug Pipeline, Feds Say From South Korea To Baltimore: 15 Charged In Massive Meth, Party Drug Pipeline, Feds Say From South Korea To Baltimore: 15 Charged In Massive Meth, Party Drug Pipeline, Feds Say
From South Korea To Baltimore: 15 Charged In Massive Meth, Party Drug Pipeline, Feds Say More than a dozen men are facing charges for their alleged roles in an international drug pipeline that funneled narcotics from California and South Korea into Maryland and DC, federal authorities say. Three Baltimore men are among 15 facing charges after investigators seized hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine and massive quantities of a dangerous party drug that were destined for customers on the East Coast, according to the US Attorney's Office. Rene Alexander Acosta, 33, Javier Gomez-Franco, 48, and Robert David Fitch, 40, were charged earlier this year. Gomez-Franco also faces a…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Obituaries
Baltimore Family Pleads For Young Dad Killed By Carjacked Vehicle: 'Please Say His Name Baltimore Family Pleads For Young Dad Killed By Carjacked Vehicle: 'Please Say His Name Baltimore Family Pleads For Young Dad Killed By Carjacked Vehicle: 'Please Say His Name
Baltimore Family Pleads For Young Dad Killed By Carjacked Vehicle: 'Please Say His Name Eric Browner Jr. was walking down a Baltimore street when a carjacked vehicle ended his life. Now his family is fighting to make sure his death doesn't define it. The 24-year-old father was killed on Friday, Oct. 23, in the 2600 block of Harford Road in Baltimore after he was struck by a red 2009 Toyota Corolla that had been stolen during a carjacking, according to Baltimore Police. Officers were called to the scene shortly before 11 p.m., where they found Browner unresponsive following the collision. The wanted carjackers in Baltimore. Metro Crime Stoppers Investigators said the C…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
WATCH: Injured Fairfax Hiker Airlifted From Steep Ravine In Dramatic Helicopter Rescue WATCH: Injured Fairfax Hiker Airlifted From Steep Ravine In Dramatic Helicopter Rescue WATCH: Injured Fairfax Hiker Airlifted From Steep Ravine In Dramatic Helicopter Rescue
Watch: Injured Fairfax Hiker Airlifted From Steep Ravine In Dramatic Helicopter Rescue A hike through a Virginia nature preserve took a painful turn when a person fell into a steep, wooded ravine, setting off a complicated rescue that ended with a helicopter hoist to safety. Fairfax County firefighters were called to the Potomac Trail in Scott's Run Nature Preserve near McLean over the weekend after receiving reports that a hiker had fallen and possibly broken their leg. When crews arrived, they found the injured hiker in a steep ravine that was inaccessible to emergency vehicles, forcing rescuers to make their way through the rugged terrain on foot while carrying medical and…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Man Killed After Teen Driver Crosses Center Line In Head-On Lothian Crash: Police Maryland Man Killed After Teen Driver Crosses Center Line In Head-On Lothian Crash: Police Maryland Man Killed After Teen Driver Crosses Center Line In Head-On Lothian Crash: Police
Maryland Man Killed After Teen Driver Crosses Center Line In Head-On Lothian Crash: Police One person was killed in a violent head-on crash in Maryland that ended with a teenage driver being airlifted to the hospital. Joseph Chester Clovis, 61, of Shady Side, died in the early-morning crash on Tuesday, Oct. 27, in Anne Arundel County, where police say a pickup truck crossed into oncoming traffic. The crash was reported shortly before 6:40 a.m. on West Bay Front Road near Fishers Station Road in Lothian. According to investigators, Clovis was heading east in a Hyundai Santa Fe when a westbound Ford F-150 crossed the double yellow line, putting the two vehicles on a collision cour…

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by Zak Failla
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