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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
10-Month Manhunt Ends With Arrests Of Virginia Trio Tied To Alexandria Shooting: Police 10-Month Manhunt Ends With Arrests Of Virginia Trio Tied To Alexandria Shooting: Police
10-Month Manhunt Ends With Arrests Of Virginia Trio Tied To Alexandria Shooting: Police A 10-month manhunt, ballistic testing, and multi-agency teamwork finally brought down a trio of violent suspects accused of spraying bullets into a Virginia home last year, police said. It took nearly a year, but all three suspects in a 2024 Alexandria shooting that rocked a residential neighborhood are now behind bars, according to police. Justin McKnight, 22, of Alexandria; Demetrius Charlton, 22, of Fairfax; and Jhamal Muskelly, 20, of Alexandria, have each been charged with shooting into an occupied dwelling, the Alexandria Police Department announced Tuesday, June 3. The charges stem …

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Police & Fire
5+ Pounds Of Pot Found Inside Tesla At Maryland Royal Farms, Police Say 5+ Pounds Of Pot Found Inside Tesla At Maryland Royal Farms, Police Say
5+ Pounds Of Pot Found Inside Tesla At Maryland Royal Farms, Police Say You can’t charge your car and your dealer at the same time — just ask the Maryland Tesla driver busted with a car full of pot and cash. A Pasadena man is facing charges after police say he was caught with more than five pounds of marijuana and nearly $15,000 in cash inside his Tesla at a Royal Farms in Anne Arundel County. Officers were checking on a silver Tesla parked at 2500 Mountain Road in Pasadena just after 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 3, when they spotted suspected drug activity, according to Anne Arundel County Police. Police say they saw drug paraphernalia in plain view inside the…

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Police & Fire
Maryland Officers Took Cash Bribes, Filed False Reports In Fraud Scheme: DOJ Maryland Officers Took Cash Bribes, Filed False Reports In Fraud Scheme: DOJ
Maryland Officers Took Cash Bribes, Filed False Reports In Fraud Scheme: DOJ Two former police officers in Maryland used their badges to file fake theft reports, vandalize cars, and collect payouts—with one even taking a $1,000 Cash App bribe, prosecutors said. Now, they face justice. Michael Anthony Owen Jr., 36, of Accokeek, and Jaron Earl Taylor, 31, of Fort Washington, pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with a wide-ranging insurance fraud scheme, according to the US Attorney’s Office on Tuesday, June 3. Owen admitted to falsifying records, while Taylor pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  Both were working as officers—Owen with…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
‘My Body Told Me To Steal A Gun’: Felon Busted At Sonic After Wild Stafford Break-In: Sheriff ‘My Body Told Me To Steal A Gun’: Felon Busted At Sonic After Wild Stafford Break-In: Sheriff
‘My Body Told Me To Steal A Gun’: Felon Busted At Sonic After Wild Stafford Break-In: Sheriff His body told him to do it. Deputies told him to get in the back of the cruiser. A convicted felon who said “my body told me to steal a gun” is back behind bars after a brazen theft attempt outside a Sonic in Stafford County, authorities said. Kenneth Gibson, 36, of Culpeper, was arrested on Sunday, June 1, after deputies say he broke into a stranger’s car and tried to swipe a handgun in the parking lot of Sonic on McWhirt Loop, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies were called to the scene around 7:37 p.m. that night after a man reported someone he didn’t know was si…

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Police & Fire
Teen Kidnapper Smashed Way Back Into Car With Rock After Victim Locked Him Out In MD: Police Teen Kidnapper Smashed Way Back Into Car With Rock After Victim Locked Him Out In MD: Police
Teen Kidnapper Smashed Way Back Into Car With Rock After Victim Locked Him Out In MD: Police She screamed for help. Her captor got locked out. Then the teen used a rock to smash his way back in before being busted for kidnapping in Maryland. A Burtonsville teen is behind bars after a terrifying kidnapping that started in Montgomery County and spiraled into a high-drama scene in Prince George’s County, police said. Joel Akakpo, 18, is charged with kidnapping and second-degree assault following a Sunday evening incident that police say involved screams, shattered glass, and a desperate attempt to escape. Officers were first called around 6:25 p.m. on June 1 to Wexhall Drive and Gree…

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by Zak Failla
Business
First $1M Winning Powerball Ticket Of 2025 Sold At Maryland Safeway First $1M Winning Powerball Ticket Of 2025 Sold At Maryland Safeway
First $1M Winning Powerball Ticket Of 2025 Sold At Maryland Safeway Check those numbers, Maryland — someone just went from grocery run to millionaire. A Powerball ticket worth $1 million was sold in Parkville for the Monday, June 2 drawing, marking Maryland’s first second-tier Powerball win of 2025, according to the Maryland Lottery. The lucky numbers were: 01-07-44-57-61, with a Powerball of 21. The winning ticket was purchased at the Safeway located at 8858 Waltham Woods Road in Baltimore County. For selling the hot ticket, the store will receive a $2,500 bonus from the Lottery. Officials are urging the mystery winner to sign the back of the ticket imme…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
1 Killed, 1 Fighting For Life After Midday Shooting In Maryland Apartment: Police (DEVELOPING) 1 Killed, 1 Fighting For Life After Midday Shooting In Maryland Apartment: Police (DEVELOPING)
1 Killed, 1 Fighting For Life After Midday Shooting In Maryland Apartment: Police (Developing) A quiet Maryland neighborhood turned into a crime scene Tuesday after a midday shooting inside a Prince George’s County apartment left one man dead and another clinging to life. The shooting happened around 12:35 p.m. on June 3, in the 5600 block of Regency Park Court, according to the Prince George’s County Police Department. Officers responded to reports of gunfire and found two adult men inside an apartment suffering from gunshot wounds, officials said.  One of the men was pronounced dead at the scene. The other was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, police said at aroun…

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News
Former EMS Chief Stole, Used Fentanyl Meant For Patients In Maryland, Prosecutors Say Former EMS Chief Stole, Used Fentanyl Meant For Patients In Maryland, Prosecutors Say
Former EMS Chief Stole, Used Fentanyl Meant For Patients In Maryland, Prosecutors Say A once-trusted paramedic in Maryland is now a convicted drug thief after prosecutors say he siphoned fentanyl from vials meant for emergency patients—and he's facing more trouble in a neighboring county. Thomas Patrick Raley, 40, of Leonardtown, was convicted on Monday, June 2, of possessing fentanyl and theft under $100 in Calvert County District Court, officials announced the next day. Prosecutors said Raley was working a paid shift at the Dunkirk Volunteer Fire Department on July 13, 2024, when he removed fentanyl from three vials intended for patients and used the powerful narcotic hims…

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Police & Fire
Flasher At Nordstrom Rack In Potomac Mills Mall Still At Large, Police Say Flasher At Nordstrom Rack In Potomac Mills Mall Still At Large, Police Say
Flasher At Nordstrom Rack In Potomac Mills Mall Still At Large, Police Say A 29-year-old man is on the run after police say he exposed himself inside a busy department store at a Northern Virginia mall. Douglas Edward Boomer, of Woodbridge, is wanted for indecent exposure following a disturbing incident inside the Nordstrom Rack at Potomac Mills, police in Prince William County said on Tuesday, June 3. Officers were called to the store at 2700 Potomac Mills Circle in Woodbridge around 2:37 p.m. on Thursday, May 29. According to investigators, Boomer was seen exposing himself inside the store, and when an employee confronted him, and he took off before police arri…

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Obituaries
Maryland Gym Rat, 20, Killed In Fiery I-70 Crash ‘Built Strength Physically, Spiritually’ Maryland Gym Rat, 20, Killed In Fiery I-70 Crash ‘Built Strength Physically, Spiritually’
Maryland Gym Rat, 20, Killed In Fiery I-70 Crash ‘Built Strength Physically, Spiritually’ A rising star in Maryland’s weightlifting community was one of two people killed in a fiery wreck that shut down I-70 in Frederick County over Memorial Day weekend, officials confirmed. Thomas McGinley, 20, of Frederick, was identified as one of the two people who died on Sunday, May 25, when a box truck was struck and burst into flames along I-70 near Exit 62 in New Market, Maryland State Police said. The crash happened around 4:10 p.m. when the driver of a BMW SUV heading west rear-ended a box truck near Route 75, state police said. The impact sent the box truck over the median and into t…

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