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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
Helmetless Glen Burnie Teen Critically Hurt In Hit-Run With Minivan: Police Helmetless Glen Burnie Teen Critically Hurt In Hit-Run With Minivan: Police
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…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Philly Boy Found Dead Under Virginia Bridge In 1972 ID’d — Mom, Boyfriend Suspected Killers Philly Boy Found Dead Under Virginia Bridge In 1972 ID’d — Mom, Boyfriend Suspected Killers
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…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Loud Boom, Then Flames: Solar Panels Blamed For Roof Fire In Reston Home Loud Boom, Then Flames: Solar Panels Blamed For Roof Fire In Reston Home
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…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
$2K Tequila Purchase Gets Brooklyn Trio Busted With Stolen Credit Cards In Stafford: Sheriff $2K Tequila Purchase Gets Brooklyn Trio Busted With Stolen Credit Cards In Stafford: Sheriff
$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…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Rented Tesla Leads To New DUI For Stafford Man, Sheriff Says Rented Tesla Leads To New DUI For Stafford Man, Sheriff Says
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…

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by Zak Failla
Traffic
Spotsy Man Dies After Car Plunges Into Embankment In High-Speed Crash, Sheriff Says Spotsy Man Dies After Car Plunges Into Embankment In High-Speed Crash, Sheriff Says
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…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Maryland Man Caught With Coke, Tries Flushing Evidence In Loudoun County: Sheriff Maryland Man Caught With Coke, Tries Flushing Evidence In Loudoun County: Sheriff
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…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
He Drove From NY To Rob Loudoun County Charities — Now He’s Going To Prison He Drove From NY To Rob Loudoun County Charities — Now He’s Going To Prison
He Drove From NY To Rob Loudoun County Charities — Now He’s Going To Prison He traveled from New York to rob donation centers meant to help people in need. Now he’s headed to prison for it. Louis Thomas Menatac, 61, of Windsor, New York, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted in Loudoun County of breaking into nonprofit donation centers and stealing thousands in cash, officials announced. Menatac was specifically targeting charitable organizations in Sterling — nonprofits that provide job training and services for people with disabilities or barriers to employment — because, prosecutors say, they often handle cash due to low-price inventory. Acc…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Drunk Virginia Man Steals Truck From Stafford Wawa, Blames 'Quite A Few' Beers: Sheriff Drunk Virginia Man Steals Truck From Stafford Wawa, Blames 'Quite A Few' Beers: Sheriff
Drunk Virginia Man Steals Truck From Stafford Wawa, Blames 'Quite A Few' Beers: Sheriff A Stafford man made one too many bad decisions before sunrise — starting with stealing a stranger’s truck and ending with his second DUI in a decade, according to the sheriff’s office. William Sullivan, 35, was arrested on Saturday, Aug. 2, after deputies found him drunk and in possession of a stolen vehicle, the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office said. It all started just after 4 a.m. at the Wawa on Butler Road, where a customer ran in for coffee and came out to find his truck missing — stolen in the time it took to grab a cup of joe. Deputies reviewed security footage and saw another custo…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Largo Man Shot Dead In Maryland, $25K Reward Offered As Officers Hunt Killer: Police Largo Man Shot Dead In Maryland, $25K Reward Offered As Officers Hunt Killer: Police
Largo Man Shot Dead In Maryland, $25K Reward Offered As Officers Hunt Killer: Police A man was gunned down in broad daylight in Prince George’s County, and now police are offering $25,000 for help catching whoever pulled the trigger. Demetrius Moore, 41, of Largo, was found shot to death outside on Friday afternoon, August 1, according to the Prince George’s County Police Department. Officers were called around 4:45 p.m. to the 200 block of Harry S. Truman Drive, where they found Moore suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Homicide detectives are now trying to determine a motive and identify the shooter or shooters. A reward of u…

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by Zak Failla
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