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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

News
‘My Father Was Invincible’: Laurel Son Pens Heartbreaking Plea To Save His Dad ‘My Father Was Invincible’: Laurel Son Pens Heartbreaking Plea To Save His Dad
‘My Father Was Invincible’: Laurel Son Pens Heartbreaking Plea To Save His Dad A devoted Maryland son is pleading for help to save his father, whose sudden health spiral has revealed a devastating cancer diagnosis with no clear origin. Julio Vasconez said everything changed in an instant. “Everything seemed to be going as usual… until a couple of months ago,” he said. “We thought it was something minor, maybe a kidney stone. But that day ended with kidney surgery — and the hardest part wasn’t the operation, it was everything that came after.” Doctors uncovered signs of advanced metastatic cancer in his father’s bones. The primary source hasn’t been found, leaving spe…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Centreville Man Flashed, Pleasured Himself In Public On Popular Trail, Police Say Centreville Man Flashed, Pleasured Himself In Public On Popular Trail, Police Say
Centreville Man Flashed, Pleasured Himself In Public On Popular Trail, Police Say A 21-year-old Centreville man is facing multiple charges after being accused of exposing himself during a series of disturbing incidents along trails in a Northern Virginia neighborhood, authorities said. Osman Quintana Herrara was arrested on Thursday, June 26, and charged with three counts of indecent exposure, Fairfax County Police announced on Monday, June 30. Police said officers first responded around 4:10 p.m. on April 24, to the area of Maple Run Lane and Middle Ridge Drive in Greenbriar for a report of a man who had exposed himself before running away.  Officers canvassed the…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
100+ MPH I-95 Pursuit Leads To Repeat DUI Offender’s Arrest In Spotsylvania, Sheriff Says 100+ MPH I-95 Pursuit Leads To Repeat DUI Offender’s Arrest In Spotsylvania, Sheriff Says
100+ MPH I-95 Pursuit Leads To Repeat DUI Offender’s Arrest In Spotsylvania, Sheriff Says A repeat DUI offender led deputies on a high-speed chase topping 100 mph on I-95 in Virginia before being arrested, authorities announced. Michelle Gorham was busted around 2 a.m. on Sunday, June 29, after deputies spotted her driving without headlights on Patriot Highway and swerving across lanes, the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office said. A traffic stop was attempted near Mine Road, but the Spotsy resident refused to stop, sparking a dangerous pursuit that continued northbound onto I-95, according to the sheriff’s office. During the pursuit, investigators say that Gorham hit speeds t…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
$43K, Crack, PCP, Guns Seized; 5 Arrested In Massive Germantown Drug Bust: Police $43K, Crack, PCP, Guns Seized; 5 Arrested In Massive Germantown Drug Bust: Police
$43K, Crack, PCP, Guns Seized; 5 Arrested In Massive Germantown Drug Bust: Police Five men were busted and thousands in cash, crack, and guns were seized in Maryland after a months-long drug investigation, authorities said. Detectives with the Montgomery County Police Department executed a trio of search warrants on Wednesday, June 25, targeting properties in connection to drug activity on Gunners Branch Road in Germantown, according to the department. The takedown stemmed from community complaints that the department received beginning last fall. During the searches, police say detectives recovered: Four firearms; Distribution quantities of crack cocaine, PCP, and MD…

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by Zak Failla
News
Mysterious Death Near Manassas Railroad Prompts Police Probe Mysterious Death Near Manassas Railroad Prompts Police Probe
Mysterious Death Near Manassas Railroad Prompts Police Probe A man was found dead near railroad tracks in Northern Virginia, police said. Officers with the Prince William County Police Department responded to Rixlew Lane in Manassas, around 3:51 p.m. on Friday, June 27, where they found a 45-year-old man unconscious on the side of the road, officials said Monday, June 30. He was pronounced dead at the scene. According to investigators, there were no signs of foul play, and the body was taken to the Medical Examiner's Office to determine the exact cause and manner of death. “There is no threat to the community concerning the death,” police said. Th…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Online Deal Goes Bad For Spotsy Fugitive Busted With Gun, Fentanyl: Sheriff Online Deal Goes Bad For Spotsy Fugitive Busted With Gun, Fentanyl: Sheriff
Online Deal Goes Bad For Spotsy Fugitive Busted With Gun, Fentanyl: Sheriff A convicted felon in Virginia who thought he was making a deal on social media was instead busted by undercover deputies — with a loaded gun and hundreds of fentanyl pills in his possession, authorities said. Austin Kile, of Spotsylvania, was arrested without incident after deputies from the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office posed as interested buyers and arranged a meet-up through social media, according to investigators on Monday, June 30. “When deputies arrived, the suspect… didn’t manage to close the deal,” the department said. “Instead, he was taken into custody… and with a lot more…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Former Leesburg Resident Had Child Sex Abuse Images On Social Media, Police Say Former Leesburg Resident Had Child Sex Abuse Images On Social Media, Police Say
Former Leesburg Resident Had Child Sex Abuse Images On Social Media, Police Say A former Virginia resident has been charged after investigators found multiple images of child sexual abuse material tied to her social media account, police in Leesburg said. Penelope Colon, 26, of Augusta, Georgia, was arrested and charged with seven counts of possession of child sexual abuse material, according to the Leesburg Police Department on Monday, June 30. Detectives began investigating in November 2024 after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The report flagged a user account on a social media platform that “may have contained ch…

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by Zak Failla
News
Howard County Seniors Displaced After Sprinkler Floods Health Facility: Officials Howard County Seniors Displaced After Sprinkler Floods Health Facility: Officials
Howard County Seniors Displaced After Sprinkler Floods Health Facility: Officials Dozens of seniors had to be evacuated in Maryland after a sprinkler pipe burst and flooded their assisted living facility, officials say. Firefighters were called around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 28, to a senior healthcare center on North Ridge Road in Ellicott City, where water was “flooding into rooms from the ceiling” due to a broken pipe, according to Howard County Fire and Rescue Services. More than 160 residents were initially displaced from the building.  Seventy-four residents were transported to nearby healthcare facilities using ambulances and Mobile Ambulance Buses (MABs…

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by Zak Failla
Sports
Grambling State Hires Maryland High School Champion Coach Desmin Wade Grambling State Hires Maryland High School Champion Coach Desmin Wade
Grambling State Hires Maryland High School Champion Coach Desmin Wade A Montgomery County coach who led one of Maryland’s top high school basketball programs to historic success is heading to the big stage at Grambling State. Desmin Wade, a Forestville native who turned James Hubert Blake High School into a powerhouse, has been hired as the new general manager and assistant coach for Grambling State University’s men’s basketball program, officials announced. Wade leaves Blake after a dominant five-year stretch that included a 91-35 record, four Division Championships, one county title, and five regional championship appearances. In 2024-2025, Wade guided the…

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by Zak Failla
Traffic
Wind Turbine Blade Falls Off Truck, Blocks I-70 In Hagerstown: Traffic Nightmare Ensues Wind Turbine Blade Falls Off Truck, Blocks I-70 In Hagerstown: Traffic Nightmare Ensues
Wind Turbine Blade Falls Off Truck, Blocks I-70 In Hagerstown: Traffic Nightmare Ensues Monday got off to a rough start for some when an unexpected detour threw a wrench into rush hour for some commuters. Shortly before 7 a.m. on June 30, several lanes were blocked in both directions on the interstate when a truck carrying a massive wind turbine blade was involved in an incident in Hagerstown, according to officials. The crash was reported near I-81.  According to reports, the truck was heading west when the blade came loose and wound up blocking lanes on both sides of the highway.  By 8:30 a.m. on Monday, crews had removed the blade from the roadway and all lanes …

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by Zak Failla
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