51°

Wednesday, mar 5

Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

zfailla@dailyvoice.com

FOLLOW ON

Facebook Twitter Linkedin Instagram

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

News

DNA Links Armed Hyattsville Man To Woman’s Rape Near Metro: DOJ A cold case has had a major breakthrough leading to the indictment of a Maryland man for a brutal armed rape, according to the US Department of Justice. Cristian Josue Arteaga, 35, formerly of Hyattsville, was indicted on multiple counts of first-degree sexual abuse while armed after investigators tied him to the 2012 attack of a woman walking home from the Ft. Totten Metro station, the US Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday, Feb. 27. The case had gone cold for over a decade until a DNA hit in late 2023 connected Arteaga to the crime, leading to his extradition to DC in January 20…

by Zak Failla

02/27/2025

News

DC Man Brutally Beats Ex, Uses 5-Year-Old Son To Silence Her: DOJ A jealous DC man brutally attacked the mother of his child, beating her unconscious in her own bathroom—then spent months trying to manipulate her into dropping the case, even using their 5-year-old son, officials said. John Brown III, 32, was found guilty of assault with significant bodily injury, obstruction of justice, and contempt after a trial in DC Superior Court, prosecutors announced on Wednesday, Feb. 26. It all began on July 4, 2023, during a game night at the victim’s Southeast DC apartment, where Brown was among the guests. But when the party ended, Brown was waiting in her bedr…

by Zak Failla

02/27/2025

Politics

Youngkin Deputizing Virginia State Police For Federal Immigration Crackdown Virginia State Police troopers will soon be federally deputized to assist with immigration enforcement under a new executive order signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin, state officials announced. Under Executive Order 47, issued on Thursday, Feb. 27, Youngkin directed Virginia State Police (VSP) to enter into an agreement with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), allowing select troopers to act as federally trained immigration officers. The move will establish a VSP Task Force of troopers who will assist ICE in identifying, detaining, and apprehending undocumented individuals accused …

by Zak Failla

02/27/2025

Police & Fire

Two Homes Destroyed In Late-Night Fires Minutes Apart In Spotsylvania Two homes in Spotsylvania County went up in flames just minutes apart late Wednesday, Feb. 26, keeping firefighters racing across the county, officials said. Crews from Spotsylvania County Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Management responded to the first fire on Hummingbird Lane in the southern part of the county just before midnight. Moments later, a second fire broke out on Foxhall Circle in the northern part of the county, officials said. Despite firefighters arriving at both scenes within seven minutes, the homes suffered significant damage, authorities said. Surrounding fire depart…

by Zak Failla

02/27/2025

Police & Fire

Teen Duped Into Fake Meetup, Attacked By Maryland Suspect Over Sweatshirts: Police A Maryland teen and his accomplice were arrested in Delaware after robbing a 15-year-old at gunpoint over sweatshirts during a duplicitous meetup authorities said. Elkton resident Tizonn Trotter, 18, and Jyair Freeman, 18, of Smyrna, Delaware, were taken into custody after allegedly luring the victim into their car and attacking him during a broad daylight robbery in Millsboro, according to Delaware State Police. The incident happened on Tuesday, Feb. 25, around 3:30 p.m. in the 20000 block of Lucky Lane when the victim arranged to meet someone he thought was his cousin through a socia…

by Zak Failla

02/27/2025

Obituaries

Teen Football Star Killed In Columbia Mall Shooting Was A Standout On, Off The Field A 16-year-old high school football player was shot and killed in a targeted attack outside the Columbia Mall, leaving family, friends, and teammates grieving an immeasurable loss, authorities said. Michael Jerome Robertson III, a sophomore at Wilde Lake High School, was gunned down on Saturday, Feb. 22 in the parking lot near the Lidl grocery store on Little Patuxent Parkway, according to Howard County Police. A second teen, Roberton's 15-year-old friend Blake McCray, was critically wounded in the shooting and remains hospitalized. Howard County Police Department Police arrested 18…

by Zak Failla

02/27/2025

Police & Fire

Man Bites, Beats Tow Truck Driver Over Repossessed Vehicle In Woodbridge: Police A Virginia man is on the run after allegedly attacking a tow truck driver twice in one morning—once biting him and later breaking his glasses, police said. Dorell Montea Farmer, 25, is wanted for malicious wounding, assault and battery, as well as destruction of property following the violent encounters in Woodbridge and along Richmond Highway on Wednesday, Feb. 26, according to Prince William County Police. The drama unfolded around 10:30 a.m. when a tow truck operator was in the process of repossessing a vehicle in the 16600 block of River Ridge Boulevard. That’s when Farmer, the v…

by Zak Failla

02/27/2025

Police & Fire

Child Porn Probe Leads To Drug, Prostitution Charges For Virginia Woman: Police A Virginia woman is facing multiple felony charges after investigators linked her to child pornography, drug distribution, and prostitution, authorities said. Destinie Love Pollard, 24, was arrested Tuesday, Feb. 25, following joint investigations by the Blue Ridge Narcotics and Gang Task Force and the NOVA-DC Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, according to the Culpeper Police Department. The case began in December 2024, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) tipped off authorities about suspected child pornography possession. Detectives with t…

by Zak Failla

02/27/2025

Police & Fire

Siblings Brutally Beat Sister’s Ex-Boyfriend In Stafford Attack, Sheriff Says A Stafford County man was ambushed and beaten by his ex-girlfriend’s two brothers after a breakup turned violent, authorities said. Keily Mazariegos Calderon, 18, and her brothers, Roy Mazariegos, 19, and Ander Mazariegos Calderon, 30, were all arrested after an attack in the Olde Forge neighborhood on Wednesday, Feb. 26, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to Olde Forge Drive around 7:15 p.m. for reports of a disturbance after two different 911 calls described a situation that had turned “kind of physical.” Investigators say Keily Mazariegos Calderon was …

by Zak Failla

02/27/2025

Police & Fire

Guns, Cocaine, High-Capacity Mags Seized From Suspected Dealer In Frederick: Sheriff A Frederick man is facing a laundry list of charges after police say they caught him with drugs, loaded guns, and high-capacity magazines—some of it allegedly within a school zone. Ezra Malik Smith, 24, was taken into custody on Tuesday, February 25, after a raid at a home in the 800 block of Motter Avenue, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office officials announced. Deputies from the Narcotics Investigations Section, working alongside Frederick City Police, executed a search warrant as part of an ongoing crackdown on drug trafficking and illegal firearm possession, they said. During the bus…

by Zak Failla

02/27/2025

Prev Page 7 of 3265 5 6 7 8 9 Next

61 - 70 of 32,650 articles