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Tuesday, aug 5

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

Stafford Hit-Run: Pedestrian Killed, White Audi SUV With Damage Sought By Deputies A man was killed in a hit-and-run crash early Tuesday morning on Richmond Highway in Virginia, authorities said. Deputies responded to the area of Richmond Highway and Foreston Woods Drive just before 2 a.m. on Aug. 5, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office. When they arrived, deputies found a 36-year-old man dead at the scene, officials said. “The preliminary investigation revealed the victim was walking Northbound on the right shoulder when he was struck by a passing vehicle,” the sheriff’s office said. “The driver then fled the scene.” Investigators say the crash site sugge…

by Zak Failla

08/05/2025

News

Convicted Child Predator From Belgium Caught Hiding In DC, Deported By ICE A convicted child sex predator who fled Belgium to avoid prison time was caught living in Washington, DC — and is now back in the hands of authorities in his home country, ICE officials confirmed. Romulus Mihai, 33, entered the US under the visa waiver program in 2013 and tried to become a citizen, officials said. What he didn’t disclose: He had already been convicted in Belgium for the sexual exploitation of a child. Instead of serving his sentence, Mihai fled to the US, ICE said. “Not only did Mihai victimize a child in his native country; he attempted to exploit the integrity of ou…

by Zak Failla

08/05/2025

Police & Fire

Stafford Woman Stabs Friend After She Tried Playing Matchmaker During Boozy Night: Sheriff A Virginia woman was arrested after police say she slashed her friend with a kitchen knife — all because she tried to set her up with a man during a night of drinking. Deputies were called around 9:15 p.m. Monday, Aug. 4, to a home on George Mason Road for a report of a disturbance involving a knife, the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office said. Upon arrival, they found a woman with a visible wound who advised deputies that she had been slashed by a friend — Roanetta Washington — during a night of drinking. According to the sheriff's office, things took a turn when the 52-year-old Washington'…

by Zak Failla

08/05/2025

Police & Fire

Helmetless Glen Burnie Teen Critically Hurt In Hit-Run With Minivan: Police A helmetless teen dirt bike rider was left critically injured after a hit-and-run crash with a minivan in Maryland, police said. The crash happened around 7:15 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3 on Crain Highway near Main Avenue SW, according to the Anne Arundel County Police Department. Police said an 18-year-old man from Glen Burnie was riding a Honda 125R dirt bike southbound on Crain Highway when he began weaving through traffic and disobeying traffic signals. He entered the center turn lane, just as a gold or tan minivan made a U-turn into his path. The dirt bike and the minivan collided. The miniv…

by Zak Failla

08/04/2025

Police & Fire

Philly Boy Found Dead Under Virginia Bridge In 1972 ID’d — Mom, Boyfriend Suspected Killers The body of a 4-year-old boy found under a Virginia bridge in 1972 has finally been identified — more than 50 years later. Fairfax County Police announced Monday, Aug. 4, that the child, long known only as “John Doe,” is Carl Matthew Bryant, a Philadelphia boy who vanished while traveling to Virginia with his mother and her boyfriend. Detectives made the identification using advanced DNA testing, forensic-grade genome sequencing, and a relentless genealogical investigation that led them from Northern Virginia to Philadelphia. “Detectives from our Major Crimes Bureau Cold Case Squad have so…

by Zak Failla

08/04/2025

Police & Fire

Loud Boom, Then Flames: Solar Panels Blamed For Roof Fire In Reston Home A fire that erupted on the roof of a Virginia home was caused by a solar panel malfunction, officials said. Fairfax County Fire and Rescue crews were called to the 2300 block of Colts Brook Drive around 6 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 3, where crews arrived to find flames showing from rooftop solar panels, the department said. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze to the roof — no injuries were reported. According to the department, residents heard a loud noise inside before seeing smoke from the roof. Everyone evacuated safely. Fairfax County Fire and Rescue “Smoke alarms were present thr…

by Zak Failla

08/04/2025

Police & Fire

$2K Tequila Purchase Gets Brooklyn Trio Busted With Stolen Credit Cards In Stafford: Sheriff A shopping spree for tequila in Stafford County ended with more than 60 warrants for three men from Brooklyn, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies said the crew sparked suspicion after allegedly dropping nearly $2,000 on tequila at the ABC store on Publix Way around 6 p.m. on Saturdayi, Aug. 2, before driving off in what staff described as a “white school bus minivan.” When deputies ran the plate, it came back to a yellow Ford — not the one they were driving. A deputy found the minivan nearby on Courthouse Road and pulled it over, authorities said. The driver’s license was suspended…

by Zak Failla

08/04/2025

Police & Fire

Rented Tesla Leads To New DUI For Stafford Man, Sheriff Says He couldn’t keep his rented Tesla on the road — and now he’s back in jail. A Stafford man with a history of drunk driving is behind bars again after deputies say he was busted behind the wheel of a rented Tesla while under the influence. Daryn Dozier, 29, was spotted swerving southbound on Richmond Highway around 9:53 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office. When the white Tesla nearly ran off Bells Hill Road, First Sergeant M.L. Jacobeen initiated a traffic stop with Deputy W.E. Trainor backing him up. The car wasn’t the problem — it was the driver. Do…

by Zak Failla

08/04/2025

Traffic

Spotsy Man Dies After Car Plunges Into Embankment In High-Speed Crash, Sheriff Says A speeding driver who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt was killed in a violent crash in Virginia, officials confirmed. Andre’ Johnson, of Spotsylvania, was pronounced dead on Sunday, Aug. 3, after his white 2010 Ford Crown Victoria veered off the road in the 6800 block of Towles Mill Road and plummeted down an embankment, according to the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office. “Mr. Johnson was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash,” Major Delbert Myrick said in a statement. “Preliminary findings indicate that speed may have been a contributing factor.” Deputies responded to the scene jus…

by Zak Failla

08/04/2025

Police & Fire

Maryland Man Caught With Coke, Tries Flushing Evidence In Loudoun County: Sheriff A Maryland man was busted in Loudoun County with cocaine and drug paraphernalia after a traffic stop — and tried to destroy the evidence inside a soda bottle, authorities said. Irvin Portillo Nolasco, 35, was arrested in Sterling on June 17, 2024, after a Loudoun County Sheriff’s deputy spotted him driving suspiciously with expired registration tags, the sheriff’s office announced Monday, Aug. 4. The stop turned into a major drug seizure. According to deputies, Nolasco had “distribution-level quantities” of cocaine and was clearly trying to get rid of the evidence before it could be recove…

by Zak Failla

08/04/2025

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