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

Silver Spring, MD
Breaking News
Murder Suspect On The Run After Allegedly Stabbing Man Multiple Times In Silver Spring: Police Murder Suspect On The Run After Allegedly Stabbing Man Multiple Times In Silver Spring: Police Murder Suspect On The Run After Allegedly Stabbing Man Multiple Times In Silver Spring: Police
Murder Suspect On The Run After Allegedly Stabbing Man Multiple Times In Silver Spring: Police A man accused of repeatedly stabbing another man to death in Maryland remains on the run more than a week after the killing, and police are warning the public that he may be armed and dangerous. Ibrahim Joseph Anthony Diebate, 34, is wanted in connection with the murder of 42-year-old Christopher Schuler in Silver Spring, the Montgomery County Police Department announced on Monday. Detectives obtained an arrest warrant charging Diebate with first-degree murder on the day of the killing, but have not disclosed what led to the deadly encounter. Officers responding to a reported stabbing in t…

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by Zak Failla
Prince Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Teen Survives Head-On Collision With Commercial Truck That Left Driver Dead: Sheriff Maryland Teen Survives Head-On Collision With Commercial Truck That Left Driver Dead: Sheriff Maryland Teen Survives Head-On Collision With Commercial Truck That Left Driver Dead: Sheriff
Maryland Teen Survives Head-On Collision With Commercial Truck That Left Driver Dead: Sheriff A possible medical emergency behind the wheel of a commercial box truck may have led to a deadly head-on collision in Maryland that left the truck driver dead and a 19-year-old woman injured, authorities say. Chester McDonald, 64, of Middle River, died following the crash, which happened at approximately 3:12 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5, in the 8700 block of Bayside Road in North Beach, according to the Calvert County Sheriff's Office. Investigators say McDonald was driving a 2025 International commercial box truck southbound when he crossed the center line and slammed head-on into a northboun…

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by Zak Failla
Bladensburg-Cheverly, MD
Breaking News
Two Suspects Apprehended, Handgun Recovered After PG County School Lockdowns (DEVELOPING) Two Suspects Apprehended, Handgun Recovered After PG County School Lockdowns (DEVELOPING) Two Suspects Apprehended, Handgun Recovered After PG County School Lockdowns (DEVELOPING)
Two Suspects Apprehended, Handgun Recovered After PG County School Lockdowns (Developing) A report of an armed person near a Maryland elementary school sparked a police search that forced multiple schools into lockdown before officers tracked down two suspects. Prince George's County Police officers were called to the 4300 block of 58th Avenue near Rogers Heights Elementary School shortly after 10:40 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 9, following a report of a suspicious person with a gun. Rogers Heights Elementary and other schools in the immediate area were placed on lockdown as officers searched the neighborhood. Police said the search led to the apprehension of two suspects, a man and a…

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by Zak Failla
Leesburg, VA
Breaking News
Leesburg Driver Clocked At 80+ MPH Had One Little Problem: Being 14 Years Old, Police Say Leesburg Driver Clocked At 80+ MPH Had One Little Problem: Being 14 Years Old, Police Say Leesburg Driver Clocked At 80+ MPH Had One Little Problem: Being 14 Years Old, Police Say
Leesburg Driver Clocked At 80+ MPH Had One Little Problem: Being 14 Years Old, Police Say A Virginia driver caught going more than 80 mph in the middle of the night had one rather significant problem when police pulled the car over: The person behind the wheel was only 14 years old. The teen was stopped by a Leesburg Police Department officer at approximately 1:04 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8, after being spotted speeding near the Leesburg Bypass and South King Street. What began as a traffic stop quickly took an unusual turn when the officer discovered the driver was barely old enough for high school, let alone a driver's license. Police said the 14-year-old did not have a valid lic…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Woodbridge Mom's Answer To Argument With 13-Year-Old Boy? A Gun, Police Say Woodbridge Mom's Answer To Argument With 13-Year-Old Boy? A Gun, Police Say Woodbridge Mom's Answer To Argument With 13-Year-Old Boy? A Gun, Police Say
Woodbridge Mom's Answer To Argument With 13-Year-Old Boy? A Gun, Police Say A 13-year-old boy found himself staring down the barrel of a grown woman's gun in Virginia after an argument over damaged property took a turn no child should ever have to face. Whitney Jenay Kelley, 33, of Woodbridge, was arrested on Wednesday, Nov. 4, after police say she confronted the boy, retrieved a firearm from her vehicle, and brandished it during an argument that spiraled out of control. The boy was in the 14900 block of Enterprise Drive in Woodbridge at approximately 3:29 p.m. when Kelley approached him and began questioning him about damaged personal property, according to Prince…

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by Zak Failla
Silver Spring, MD
Breaking News
Montgomery County Double Killer Wins New Trial, Only To Get Same Judge, Same Life Sentence Montgomery County Double Killer Wins New Trial, Only To Get Same Judge, Same Life Sentence Montgomery County Double Killer Wins New Trial, Only To Get Same Judge, Same Life Sentence
Montgomery County Double Killer Wins New Trial, Only To Get Same Judge, Same Life Sentence A convicted double murderer in Maryland got a second chance to beat the charges against him, only to wind up right back where he started: facing the same judge and two life sentences without parole. Gregory Jones, 33, of Martinsburg, WV, was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus another 30 years, for the 2018 execution-style murders of Ashley Dickinson, 34, and her boyfriend, Joshua Frazier, 29, in Burtonsville. It was a familiar outcome for Jones, who received the same punishment from Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge David Lease in May 202…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
46 Shots, Two Dead: $8K Reward Offered In Baltimore Mass Shooting 46 Shots, Two Dead: $8K Reward Offered In Baltimore Mass Shooting 46 Shots, Two Dead: $8K Reward Offered In Baltimore Mass Shooting
46 Shots, Two Dead: $8K Reward Offered In Baltimore Mass Shooting Nearly three weeks after a mass shooting left two people dead and three others wounded in Maryland, investigators are putting thousands of dollars on the table in hopes of finding those responsible. Layla Bailey, 34, and Dashawn McCoy, 20, were killed on Sunday, Oct. 18, when gunfire erupted at Princess Plaza on Edmondson Avenue in Baltimore, where Metro Crime Stoppers is now offering a reward of up to $8,000 for information leading to felony charges and an arrest. Information SoughtHomicide Detectives continue to seek assistance related to the homicides of Layla Bailey and Dashawn McCoy…

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by Zak Failla
Stafford, VA
Breaking News
Neighbor Rushes To Help As Flames Shoot From Roof Of Burning Stafford Townhouse Neighbor Rushes To Help As Flames Shoot From Roof Of Burning Stafford Townhouse Neighbor Rushes To Help As Flames Shoot From Roof Of Burning Stafford Townhouse
Neighbor Rushes To Help As Flames Shoot From Roof Of Burning Stafford Townhouse A Virginia family escaped a late-night townhouse fire that tore through the upper floors of their home, sending flames shooting from the roof as a neighbor rushed to help. Stafford County Fire and Rescue crews were called to the 500 block of View Point Way in the Rappahannock Landing area shortly before midnight on Sunday, Nov. 8, where they found flames and heavy smoke pouring from the third floor and roof of a three-story, end-unit townhouse. Firefighters immediately began battling the flames while simultaneously searching the home for anyone who might still be inside. All four occupants…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Hospital Worker Stabbed To Death, Husband Accused Of Murder: Baltimore Police Maryland Hospital Worker Stabbed To Death, Husband Accused Of Murder: Baltimore Police Maryland Hospital Worker Stabbed To Death, Husband Accused Of Murder: Baltimore Police
Maryland Hospital Worker Stabbed To Death, Husband Accused Of Murder: Baltimore Police A Maryland woman was stabbed to death outside the Baltimore hospital where she worked, and police say her husband, who routinely accompanied her to work, was responsible. Marquis Jamal Johnson, 37, of Baltimore, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Tiera Gamble, 36, who was attacked in the parking lot of MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital on Friday, Nov. 6. Gamble, an executive assistant to the hospital's director of psychological services, was found suffering from multiple stab wounds shortly after 8:20 a.m. According to court documents, a witness saw Gamble fa…

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by Zak Failla
West Springfield, VA
Breaking News
Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Suspected Drunk Driver Slams Into Fairfax DWI Enforcement Cruiser Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Suspected Drunk Driver Slams Into Fairfax DWI Enforcement Cruiser Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Suspected Drunk Driver Slams Into Fairfax DWI Enforcement Cruiser
Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Suspected Drunk Driver Slams Into Fairfax DWI Enforcement Cruiser A suspected drunk driver in Virginia picked perhaps the worst possible police cruiser to crash into: one assigned to a squad dedicated to catching impaired drivers. Pedro Javier Patraca Jacome, 26, an Arizona resident, was arrested after police say he slammed his GMC Sierra into the back of a marked Fairfax County Police cruiser during an unrelated traffic stop on I-95 in Springfield early on Sunday, Nov. 8. According to Fairfax County Police, an officer assigned to the department's DWI Squad had pulled over a reckless driver on southbound I-95 near Fairfax County Parkway at approximately 4…

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by Zak Failla
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