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

Lanham-Seabrook, MD
Obituaries
Maryland Father Faces Every Parent's Worst Nightmare After Daughter Killed On Lanham Walk Maryland Father Faces Every Parent's Worst Nightmare After Daughter Killed On Lanham Walk Maryland Father Faces Every Parent's Worst Nightmare After Daughter Killed On Lanham Walk
Maryland Father Faces Every Parent's Worst Nightmare After Daughter Killed On Lanham Walk A Maryland custodian known for helping his coworkers is now the one who needs their help after his daughter was struck and killed during an evening walk. Officers from the Prince George's County Police Department were called around 11:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23, to the 8800 block of Greenbelt Road, where they found Lakeshia Reed, 53, after she was struck by a vehicle. The Lanham resident was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders. Police say the driver involved was uninjured and stayed at the scene to assist with the officers' investigation. Following the fatal crash, friends and…

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by Zak Failla
Leesburg, VA
Breaking News
Leesburg Man Claims Self-Defense, But Cops Say He Returned To Shoot Up Car Near School: Police Leesburg Man Claims Self-Defense, But Cops Say He Returned To Shoot Up Car Near School: Police Leesburg Man Claims Self-Defense, But Cops Say He Returned To Shoot Up Car Near School: Police
Leesburg Man Claims Self-Defense, But Cops Say He Returned To Shoot Up Car Near School: Police A Virginia man who claimed he fired a gun in self-defense during an early-morning fight instead returned to the scene and shot up an empty vehicle near a school, police say. Trevon M. Taylor, 29, of Leesburg, was arrested on Wednesday, Oct. 28, following an investigation into the Oct. 17 shooting in the 500 block of East Market Street, according to the Leesburg Police Department. The investigation began when Taylor contacted police around 9:30 a.m. that morning, reporting that several people had assaulted him during an altercation between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. Taylor initially told investigato…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Killer Couldn't Keep His Secret: 20-Year-Old Murder Mystery Finally Cracked Maryland Killer Couldn't Keep His Secret: 20-Year-Old Murder Mystery Finally Cracked Maryland Killer Couldn't Keep His Secret: 20-Year-Old Murder Mystery Finally Cracked
Maryland Killer Couldn't Keep His Secret: 20-Year-Old Murder Mystery Finally Cracked A Maryland murder went unsolved for nearly 20 years, but the man responsible apparently had trouble keeping his secret. Tyrone Hughey, 44, of Salisbury, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Tuesday, Oct. 20, in the 2006 stabbing death of Denise Horsey, whose screams for help led police to a Salisbury alley. Officers responding to reports of a woman screaming for help around 6:15 a.m. on April 8, 2006, found Horsey suffering from multiple stab wounds in an alley behind 306 Naylor St. She was rushed to Peninsula Regional Medical Center, where she died from her injuries. Despite an inves…

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by Zak Failla
Reisterstown, MD
Breaking News
From South Korea To Baltimore: 15 Charged In Massive Meth, Party Drug Pipeline, Feds Say From South Korea To Baltimore: 15 Charged In Massive Meth, Party Drug Pipeline, Feds Say From South Korea To Baltimore: 15 Charged In Massive Meth, Party Drug Pipeline, Feds Say
From South Korea To Baltimore: 15 Charged In Massive Meth, Party Drug Pipeline, Feds Say More than a dozen men are facing charges for their alleged roles in an international drug pipeline that funneled narcotics from California and South Korea into Maryland and DC, federal authorities say. Three Baltimore men are among 15 facing charges after investigators seized hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine and massive quantities of a dangerous party drug that were destined for customers on the East Coast, according to the US Attorney's Office. Rene Alexander Acosta, 33, Javier Gomez-Franco, 48, and Robert David Fitch, 40, were charged earlier this year. Gomez-Franco also faces a…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Obituaries
Baltimore Family Pleads For Young Dad Killed By Carjacked Vehicle: 'Please Say His Name Baltimore Family Pleads For Young Dad Killed By Carjacked Vehicle: 'Please Say His Name Baltimore Family Pleads For Young Dad Killed By Carjacked Vehicle: 'Please Say His Name
Baltimore Family Pleads For Young Dad Killed By Carjacked Vehicle: 'Please Say His Name Eric Browner Jr. was walking down a Baltimore street when a carjacked vehicle ended his life. Now his family is fighting to make sure his death doesn't define it. The 24-year-old father was killed on Friday, Oct. 23, in the 2600 block of Harford Road in Baltimore after he was struck by a red 2009 Toyota Corolla that had been stolen during a carjacking, according to Baltimore Police. Officers were called to the scene shortly before 11 p.m., where they found Browner unresponsive following the collision. The wanted carjackers in Baltimore. Metro Crime Stoppers Investigators said the C…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
WATCH: Injured Fairfax Hiker Airlifted From Steep Ravine In Dramatic Helicopter Rescue WATCH: Injured Fairfax Hiker Airlifted From Steep Ravine In Dramatic Helicopter Rescue WATCH: Injured Fairfax Hiker Airlifted From Steep Ravine In Dramatic Helicopter Rescue
Watch: Injured Fairfax Hiker Airlifted From Steep Ravine In Dramatic Helicopter Rescue A hike through a Virginia nature preserve took a painful turn when a person fell into a steep, wooded ravine, setting off a complicated rescue that ended with a helicopter hoist to safety. Fairfax County firefighters were called to the Potomac Trail in Scott's Run Nature Preserve near McLean over the weekend after receiving reports that a hiker had fallen and possibly broken their leg. When crews arrived, they found the injured hiker in a steep ravine that was inaccessible to emergency vehicles, forcing rescuers to make their way through the rugged terrain on foot while carrying medical and…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Man Killed After Teen Driver Crosses Center Line In Head-On Lothian Crash: Police Maryland Man Killed After Teen Driver Crosses Center Line In Head-On Lothian Crash: Police Maryland Man Killed After Teen Driver Crosses Center Line In Head-On Lothian Crash: Police
Maryland Man Killed After Teen Driver Crosses Center Line In Head-On Lothian Crash: Police One person was killed in a violent head-on crash in Maryland that ended with a teenage driver being airlifted to the hospital. Joseph Chester Clovis, 61, of Shady Side, died in the early-morning crash on Tuesday, Oct. 27, in Anne Arundel County, where police say a pickup truck crossed into oncoming traffic. The crash was reported shortly before 6:40 a.m. on West Bay Front Road near Fishers Station Road in Lothian. According to investigators, Clovis was heading east in a Hyundai Santa Fe when a westbound Ford F-150 crossed the double yellow line, putting the two vehicles on a collision cour…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
Missing Alexandria Man Found Dead In Apartment As 63-Year-Old Faces Murder Charge: Police Missing Alexandria Man Found Dead In Apartment As 63-Year-Old Faces Murder Charge: Police Missing Alexandria Man Found Dead In Apartment As 63-Year-Old Faces Murder Charge: Police
Missing Alexandria Man Found Dead In Apartment As 63-Year-Old Faces Murder Charge: Police A missing man. A desperate search. A body found inside a Virginia apartment. Now, a 63-year-old man is facing a murder charge. John Stremple III, of Alexandria, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Joshua Cochran, 44, whose disappearance sparked a search involving local police and state search-and-rescue teams. Cochran was last seen on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 24, in the 1400 block of North Beauregard Street, according to the Alexandria Police Department. He was reported missing two days later, on Monday, Oct. 26, prompting an investigation that w…

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by Zak Failla
Indian Head-Nanjemoy, MD
Breaking News
Child Neglect Investigation Exposes Years Of Sexual Abuse By Indian Head Man: Prosecutors Child Neglect Investigation Exposes Years Of Sexual Abuse By Indian Head Man: Prosecutors Child Neglect Investigation Exposes Years Of Sexual Abuse By Indian Head Man: Prosecutors
Child Neglect Investigation Exposes Years Of Sexual Abuse By Indian Head Man: Prosecutors A Maryland man who repeatedly sexually abused a young girl he lived with has been convicted after the abuse came to light during an unrelated investigation into suspected child neglect. Kareem Abdul Isaroon, 51, of Indian Head, was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor following a four-day trial in Charles County that ended on Thursday, Oct. 22. The girl had been living under the same roof as Isaroon between 2023 and 2025, during which prosecutors say he repeatedly touched her inappropriately when she entered his bedroom. The allegations surfaced in September 2025, when detectives and Child…

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
Charles County Man Who 'Tortured' Girlfriend's Relative In Dayslong Kidnapping Learns Fate Charles County Man Who 'Tortured' Girlfriend's Relative In Dayslong Kidnapping Learns Fate Charles County Man Who 'Tortured' Girlfriend's Relative In Dayslong Kidnapping Learns Fate
Charles County Man Who 'Tortured' Girlfriend's Relative In Dayslong Kidnapping Learns Fate A Maryland man who helped orchestrate a dayslong kidnapping that left his girlfriend's relative beaten, bound, and terrorized is headed to prison, though not for nearly as long as prosecutors wanted. In March, Amar Julio Barrera, 44, was found guilty of home invasion and other offenses in connection with a harrowing incident that could have been taken from a Hollywood script, according to the Charles County State's Attorney's Office. On Wednesday, the Charles County State's Attorney's Office announced that Judge Makeba Gibbs sentenced Barrera to 10 years in prison. Prosecutors had sought 6…

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by Zak Failla
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