Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

[email protected]

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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

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
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
Nine People Inside As Van Lands In Fairfax Ditch, Leaving Firefighters With Delicate Rescue Nine People Inside As Van Lands In Fairfax Ditch, Leaving Firefighters With Delicate Rescue Nine People Inside As Van Lands In Fairfax Ditch, Leaving Firefighters With Delicate Rescue
Nine People Inside As Van Lands In Fairfax Ditch, Leaving Firefighters With Delicate Rescue Nine people escaped injury after a van veered into a roadside ditch in Virginia, leaving the vehicle leaning at a precarious angle as firefighters worked to stabilize it before helping everyone out. Fairfax County Fire and Rescue crews were called to the intersection of Georgetown Pike and Bellville Road in McLean at approximately 7:49 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8, after reports of a van on its side with people trapped inside. When first responders arrived, they found the van upright but leaning at an angle in a roadside ditch, with all nine occupants still inside. The scene of the crash …

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by Zak Failla
Chantilly, VA
Breaking News
Fireworks Were Already Finished When A $650K Disaster Struck A Chantilly Family's Home Fireworks Were Already Finished When A $650K Disaster Struck A Chantilly Family's Home Fireworks Were Already Finished When A $650K Disaster Struck A Chantilly Family's Home
Fireworks Were Already Finished When A $650K Disaster Struck A Chantilly Family's Home Fireworks that had already gone off sparked a $650,000 disaster in Virginia after they were improperly tossed into a trash can, leaving a family of five without a home and sending two firefighters to the hospital. Loudoun County Fire and Rescue officials say the accidental blaze broke out shortly after 8 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8, at a two-story home in the 42000 block of Equine Trail Court in Chantilly. Multiple 911 callers reported the fire at approximately 8:09 p.m., prompting a response from Loudoun County firefighters and crews from neighboring Fairfax and Prince William counties. Whe…

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by Zak Failla
Parkville-Carney, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Crisis Call Takes Deadly Turn Inside Baltimore County Home: Police (DEVELOPING) Maryland Crisis Call Takes Deadly Turn Inside Baltimore County Home: Police (DEVELOPING) Maryland Crisis Call Takes Deadly Turn Inside Baltimore County Home: Police (DEVELOPING)
Maryland Crisis Call Takes Deadly Turn Inside Baltimore County Home: Police (Developing) A Maryland crisis call turned into a homicide investigation after police say a barricaded man shot himself and another person inside a Baltimore County home. Baltimore County Police officers were called to the unit block of Bayberry Court in Parkville at approximately 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, for a report of a person experiencing a crisis. When officers arrived, a barricade was declared, police said. After the situation was resolved, investigators determined that the person at the center of the initial call had shot himself and another person inside the residence. The second person was…

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by Zak Failla
Pasadena-Lake Shore, MD
Your Community
From Chicken Necks To Ashes: Pasadena Crabber's Livelihood Goes Up In Flames From Chicken Necks To Ashes: Pasadena Crabber's Livelihood Goes Up In Flames From Chicken Necks To Ashes: Pasadena Crabber's Livelihood Goes Up In Flames
From Chicken Necks To Ashes: Pasadena Crabber's Livelihood Goes Up In Flames A Maryland crabber caught fire trying to save the boat that kept his family afloat, only to watch a decade of hard work go up in smoke. Scott Kolodziejski, who runs Pasadena-based Family's Crustacean Station with his wife, Candice Knight, was aboard the vessel when the fire broke out on Wednesday, Nov. 4, leaving the couple without the boat or equipment they relied on to support their children. According to Kolodziejski, he was on the boat when the flames erupted, forcing him to extinguish the fire on his own body before turning his attention to the burning vessel. He went through two fire…

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by Zak Failla
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