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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
Lexus, Tow Truck Forfeited By Reisterstown Woman Distributing Coke In Maryland: Prosecutors Lexus, Tow Truck Forfeited By Reisterstown Woman Distributing Coke In Maryland: Prosecutors
Lexus, Tow Truck Forfeited By Reisterstown Woman Distributing Coke In Maryland: Prosecutors A Reisterstown woman facing serious drug charges in Carroll County pleaded guilty in connection to a large-scale cocaine distribution operation, authorities said. Melissa Dawn Smith, 42, of Reisterstown, admitted to a single count of distributing cocaine during a hearing on Friday, Jan. 10, in Carroll County Circuit Court.  The charges stem from a criminal investigation by the Carroll County Drug and Firearms Trafficking Task Force, which targeted a drug trafficking ring operating out of both Baltimore and Carroll counties. Investigators say Smith was indicted after she distributed co…

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by Zak Failla
Traffic
Father Of Three Known As 'Angel' Killed In Single-Vehicle Prince George's County Crash: Police Father Of Three Known As 'Angel' Killed In Single-Vehicle Prince George's County Crash: Police
Father Of Three Known As 'Angel' Killed In Single-Vehicle Prince George's County Crash: Police Heaven gained another "Angel" following a fatal crash that was reported in Prince George's County over the weekend. Clinton resident Ezequiel Maza Espadas, known to his loved ones as "Angel" has been identified by investigators as the person killed in a crash on Friday night. Shortly after 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 10, officers from the Prince George's County Police Department were called to the 9800 block of Surratts Road to investigate a single-vehicle crash after Maza Espadas lost control and struck a utility pole. The 33-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in his v…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Elderly Woman Dies From Thermal Burns, Smoke Inhalation In Charles County Blaze: Fire Marshal Elderly Woman Dies From Thermal Burns, Smoke Inhalation In Charles County Blaze: Fire Marshal
Elderly Woman Dies From Thermal Burns, Smoke Inhalation In Charles County Blaze: Fire Marshal A 94-year-old woman has been identified as the victim of last week’s fatal house fire in Charles County, officials announced. The fire marshal confirmed that Dora Lee Douglas, the homeowner, died from thermal burn injuries and smoke inhalation in the Hughesville fire, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Charles County Sheriff's deputies and EMS were called to Douglas' home on Driftwood Place shortly after 3 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 9, for a welfare check after a friend hadn’t heard from her in days.  Inside, first responders found Douglas dead with serious burn injuri…

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by Zak Failla
News
California Drug Trafficker Moving 1,500 Pounds Of Pot Worth $4M+ Gets Prison Time In Loudoun California Drug Trafficker Moving 1,500 Pounds Of Pot Worth $4M+ Gets Prison Time In Loudoun
California Drug Trafficker Moving 1,500 Pounds Of Pot Worth $4M+ Gets Prison Time In Loudoun A major cross-country drug trafficking case came to a dramatic conclusion in Loudoun County, where a California man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for transporting a staggering 1,500 pounds of marijuana valued at over $4 million, authorities announced. Leonid Mordan, 38, stood before the Loudoun County Circuit Court last week after being convicted of possession with the intent to distribute more than five pounds of marijuana, with no time suspended. The arrest followed a months-long investigation led by Virginia State Police and the Blue Ridge Narcotics and Gang Task Force, which targe…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Teen With Stolen Handgun Linked To Federal Theft Case Arrested After Frederick Stop: Sheriff Teen With Stolen Handgun Linked To Federal Theft Case Arrested After Frederick Stop: Sheriff
Teen With Stolen Handgun Linked To Federal Theft Case Arrested After Frederick Stop: Sheriff A routine traffic stop in Frederick County led to the recovery of a stolen firearm and the arrest of a juvenile suspect who will be tried as an adult, officials announced. Last week, deputies from the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office stopped a silver Toyota Camry on Urbana Pike that had three people inside, all under the age of 21. According to the sheriff's office, deputies immediately detected the odor of marijuana and observed open containers of alcohol in plain view.  After removing the occupants from the car, a search uncovered a loaded Canik TP9 9mm handgun concealed in one of …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Bodycam Footage Released Of Officer-Involved Maryland Motel Standoff With Wanted PA Fugitive Bodycam Footage Released Of Officer-Involved Maryland Motel Standoff With Wanted PA Fugitive
Bodycam Footage Released Of Officer-Involved Maryland Motel Standoff With Wanted PA Fugitive The Frederick County Sheriff's Office has released bodycam footage of the officer-involved shooting of a wanted Pennsylvania fugitive during a barricade situation at a Maryland motel last summer. Shortly before midnight on Aug. 1, 2024, deputies from the Frederick County Police Department and Sheriff's Office were called to the Super 8 motel on Monocacy Boulevard, where they were tipped off about a fugitive wanted out of Beaver County who was believed to be in the area. This video is a presentation intended to inform the public of details as we currently understand them related to a de…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Stafford Man Found Asleep At The Wheel After 'Relaxing' Drive Hit With Second DUI, Sheriff Says Stafford Man Found Asleep At The Wheel After 'Relaxing' Drive Hit With Second DUI, Sheriff Says
Stafford Man Found Asleep At The Wheel After 'Relaxing' Drive Hit With Second DUI, Sheriff Says A Stafford man’s attempt at “relaxing” behind the wheel quickly spiraled into a weekend arrest after deputies found him asleep at the intersection of Garrisonville Road and Center Street with his foot barely holding the brake. The man, identified as 62-year-old Robert Barrow Jr., is now facing his second DUI charge within the past decade, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office. It all unfolded around 10:45 p.m. on Friday, January 10, when deputies noticed an Acura stopped in the middle of the intersection.  Concerned, a deputy approached the vehicle and found Barrow unconsc…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
'Acting Crazy:' Canceled Plans Lead To Man's Arrest In Stafford, Authorities Say 'Acting Crazy:' Canceled Plans Lead To Man's Arrest In Stafford, Authorities Say
'Acting Crazy:' Canceled Plans Lead To Man's Arrest In Stafford, Authorities Say A night meant for fun turned into a chaotic scene Friday, Jan. 10 when a Stafford man forced his way into a woman's home, assaulted her, and stole her phone after she canceled their plans, police said. William Gordon IV, 28, now faces a slew of charges, including breaking and entering, robbery, and assault, following the wild sequence of events that ended with his arrest at the Rappahannock Regional Jail. According to Stafford County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to Mountain View Road around 5:15 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 10 after receiving a call describing an individual “acting crazy.”&…

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by Zak Failla
News
Maryland Man Who Withheld Drugs From 'Dopesick' Women Forced Into Prostitution Gets Prison Time Maryland Man Who Withheld Drugs From 'Dopesick' Women Forced Into Prostitution Gets Prison Time
Maryland Man Who Withheld Drugs From 'Dopesick' Women Forced Into Prostitution Gets Prison Time A 36-year-old Maryland man who used women's' drug dependency to compel them to participate in commercial sex work for him up and down the East Coast will spend nearly two decades in prison, federal authorities announced. William O’Neil Murray III pleaded guilty in August 2024 to sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion over the course of several months in several states. On Monday, Jan. 13, Murray was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison and also ordered to pay his victims nearly $95,000 in restitution. “This sentencing is a powerful reminder that the FBI Richmond team will tir…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Father Accused Of Busting Into Annapolis Home, Stabbing Child's Mother In Late-Night Fight: PD Father Accused Of Busting Into Annapolis Home, Stabbing Child's Mother In Late-Night Fight: PD
Father Accused Of Busting Into Annapolis Home, Stabbing Child's Mother In Late-Night Fight: PD Chaos erupted late Friday night in Maryland when a man allegedly broke into his child’s mother’s Anne Arundel County home, attacked her with a knife, and led police on a wild chase, authorities said. It all went down shortly before 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 10 in the 1400 block of Tyler Avenue in Annapolis, where officers responded to a reported stabbing. When police got there, they spotted the suspect’s car speeding away from the scene, sparking a pursuit, officials said. The victim told officers that her child’s father broke into her home by cutting the screen on a window, then once inside, thi…

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by Zak Failla
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