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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
Officer Shot Responding To Domestic Call; Barricade Ongoing In Hagerstown: Police (DEVELOPING) Officer Shot Responding To Domestic Call; Barricade Ongoing In Hagerstown: Police (DEVELOPING)
Officer Shot Responding To Domestic Call; Barricade Ongoing In Hagerstown: Police (Developing) An officer is recovering after being shot during a domestic violence call in Washington County, where a suspect remains barricaded in a home as of late Thursday morning. Officers responded around 5 a.m. to the 700 block of Forrest Drive on June 12, where a man opened fire and struck a Hagerstown Police Department officer in the arm, officials said.  The officer was rushed into surgery and is now in recovery. “We know the suspect has a weapon and already shot a police officer,” a police spokesperson said in an update just before 9:45 a.m. “We are using extreme caution and professionali…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Carroll County Drug Ring Busted; Westminster Pair Jailed After SWAT Raids, Sheriff Says Carroll County Drug Ring Busted; Westminster Pair Jailed After SWAT Raids, Sheriff Says
Carroll County Drug Ring Busted; Westminster Pair Jailed After SWAT Raids, Sheriff Says Two alleged drug traffickers are behind bars in Carroll County after a major multi-agency bust that spanned six months and involved SWAT teams, the DEA, and local police from three counties, authorities announced. Antonio Alfonso Liason, 38, and Jessica Brooke Smith, 47, both of Westminster, were arrested this week, during a sweeping takedown involving search warrants across Carroll County and Baltimore, according to the sheriff's office. “These search warrants were a result of a joint investigation spanning approximately six months, targeting the distribution of large quantities of illicit…

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
Maryland Mom Of 3 Dies After Rare Breast Cancer Battle: ‘She Was The Heart Of Her Family’ Maryland Mom Of 3 Dies After Rare Breast Cancer Battle: ‘She Was The Heart Of Her Family’
Maryland Mom Of 3 Dies After Rare Breast Cancer Battle: ‘She Was The Heart Of Her Family’ A Frederick County family is facing an unimaginable loss after Melanie Renae Acheampong, a 38-year-old mother of three, died following a courageous battle with triple-negative breast cancer, her loved ones confirmed. Acheampong passed away on Sunday, June 8, 2025, surrounded by her husband Yaw Acheampong, her parents Ed and Renae Tippett, her sisters, extended family, and close friends, according to the family.  “She was the heart of her family; a devoted wife to Yaw and a loving, hands-on mother to their three young children: Cameron, 8, Quentin, 6, and Mya,” organizers of a GoFundMe creat…

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by Zak Failla
Traffic
Amtrak Train Service Halted In Baltimore After Vehicle Found On Tracks (DEVELOPING) Amtrak Train Service Halted In Baltimore After Vehicle Found On Tracks (DEVELOPING)
Amtrak Train Service Halted In Baltimore After Vehicle Found On Tracks (Developing) All Amtrak train traffic in and out of Baltimore has been suspended while authorities investigate a vehicle found on the tracks, officials said Wednesday night. The hold was placed by “local municipal officials,” and there is no current estimate for how long the delays may last, according to an alert issued by Amtrak at 7:13 p.m. on June 11. "All rail traffic departing and arriving in Baltimore (BAL) has been halted due to local municipal officials placing a hold on the tracks while investigating an unauthorized vehicle on the tracks," Amtrak wrote. "We are working to establish a delay time…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
DNA From DC Arrest Links Man To 2024 Montgomery County Murder, Police Say DNA From DC Arrest Links Man To 2024 Montgomery County Murder, Police Say
DNA From DC Arrest Links Man To 2024 Montgomery County Murder, Police Say A man arrested on an oustanding warrant in Washington, DC is now charged with murder in Maryland — after his DNA linked him to a deadly stabbing in Gaithersburg, police said. Bulfrano Martinez-Maldonado, 38, is accused of killing 49-year-old Mynor Rene Lara Salguero, who was found dead with multiple stab wounds in the 8000 block of Blair Mill Road on Dec. 16, 2024, according to the Montgomery County Department of Police. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Lara Salguero’s death a homicide. Police say Martinez-Maldonado was with the victim shortly before the killing.  He wa…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Mom Charged With Murder In 3-Year-Old’s Death After Making Up Amber Alert: Cops Mom Charged With Murder In 3-Year-Old’s Death After Making Up Amber Alert: Cops
Mom Charged With Murder In 3-Year-Old’s Death After Making Up Amber Alert: Cops The mother of a 3-year-old girl who sparked an Amber Alert out of Delaware is now charged with murder after the child’s body was found dumped in Maryland, state police announced. Darrian Randle, 31, of North East, told police she had pulled over on Gender Road in Newark, Delaware, around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, June 10, to comfort her daughter, Nola Dinkens, when a white man with a gun kidnapped the girl and took off in a dark SUV. That story was a lie, authorities now say. After an overnight manhunt and multi-agency investigation, Maryland State Police confirmed the toddler’s remains were disc…

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by Zak Failla
News
Morehouse Student Found Dead In Virginia After Crash Near Mall: 'He Was A Bright Young Man' Morehouse Student Found Dead In Virginia After Crash Near Mall: 'He Was A Bright Young Man'
Morehouse Student Found Dead In Virginia After Crash Near Mall: 'He Was A Bright Young Man' A body has been recovered in Tysons near the site of a crash that sparked a multi-day search for Kyle Coleman, a 19-year-old college student from Prince William County who went missing last weekend, police said. The recovery was made by Fairfax County Police Department's Dive Team on Tuesday, June 10, in a small body of water near Westpark Drive and Galleria Drive, authorities confirmed. “Late this afternoon, the FCPD Dive Team recovered a human body from a small body of water near Westpark Dr & Galleria Dr in Tysons,” the department posted on social media. “An FCPD death investigation …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Foundation Director Secretly Filmed Children With Hidden Cameras: Fairfax County Police Foundation Director Secretly Filmed Children With Hidden Cameras: Fairfax County Police
Foundation Director Secretly Filmed Children With Hidden Cameras: Fairfax County Police A Virginia man who helped run cultural youth programs for the Lao Heritage Foundation is behind bars after being accused of secretly recording minors inside his Groveton home, police said. Victor Souphom, 52, was arrested on Thursday, May 29, and charged with two counts of unlawful filming of a minor, according to the Fairfax County Police Department on Wednesday, June 11. Police say the investigation began two days earlier, when Child Protective Services received a referral involving Souphom, who was reportedly under investigation in Ohio after a recording device was discovered in a rental…

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by Zak Failla
Traffic
Crash On I-95 Near I-295 Ties Up Traffic In Prince George's County Crash On I-95 Near I-295 Ties Up Traffic In Prince George's County
Crash On I-95 Near I-295 Ties Up Traffic In Prince George's County A crash on the I-95/495 Inner Loop in Prince George’s County tied up traffic for miles Wednesday afternoon, June 11, according to transportation officials. The crash happened just past I-295 (Exit 2) and blocked the center lane of the local lanes on I-95 South around 3:25 p.m., MATOC (Metropolitan Area Transportation Operations Coordination) reported. "One center lane of the Local Lanes is blocked, one left and one right lane gets by. The Thru Lanes are not impacted,” MATOC posted on X. As of the latest alert, delays stretched approximately 1.5 miles southbound on the local lanes.  A…

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
27-Year-Old Stabbed Dead In DC Had Bright Future Ahead, Loved Ones Say 27-Year-Old Stabbed Dead In DC Had Bright Future Ahead, Loved Ones Say
27-Year-Old Stabbed Dead In DC Had Bright Future Ahead, Loved Ones Say Jonathan Fuentes-Ferrufino was the kind of person who could light up a room — or, as one friend put it, “always had a smile on his face.”  Now, his community is mourning his loss after police say the 27-year-old was fatally stabbed inside a Northwest DC home over the weekend during a domestic dispute. Officers with the Metropolitan Police Department were called just after 12:30 a.m. Sunday, June 8, to a home on the 4100 block of 7th Street NW for a reported stabbing.  When officers arrived, they found Fuentes-Ferrufino suffering from stab wounds. DC Fire and EMS personnel respon…

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by Zak Failla
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