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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
WATCH: Hagerstown Officer Shot By Shotgun During Barricade Discharged From Hospital WATCH: Hagerstown Officer Shot By Shotgun During Barricade Discharged From Hospital
Watch: Hagerstown Officer Shot By Shotgun During Barricade Discharged From Hospital Hagerstown Police Officer Langley Dean was met with a hero's welcome when he was released from the hospital after being hit by a shotgun blast during a standoff. Dean, a 19-year veteran K9 officer, was discharged from Meritus Medical Center on Tuesday, June 17 after being shot in the face, hand, and arm by a 20-gauge shotgun amid a lengthy barricade situation with Daniel Matthew Anderson. A massive crowd of first responders, officers, police K9s, and hospital staff was on hand Tuesday morning to give Dean a rousing round of applause as he was wheeled out to head home five days after be…

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
$1M Virginia Lottery Prize Set To Expire — Could You Be The Winner? $1M Virginia Lottery Prize Set To Expire — Could You Be The Winner?
$1M Virginia Lottery Prize Set To Expire — Could You Be The Winner? Someone in Virginia might be walking around with a $1 million lottery ticket in their wallet, glove box, or junk drawer — and if they don’t find it soon, it’s going to become a very expensive piece of trash. Two unclaimed Virginia Lottery winners — including one worth $1 million — are just days away from going completely worthless, lottery officials warned. The bigger of the two prizes was won in the New Year’s Millionaire Raffle on Jan. 1, 2025.  That winning ticket, worth $1 million, was bought at the Food Lion at 30 Windward Drive in Fishersville. It expires at 5 p.m. on Monday, Ju…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Sheetz Stores In Leesburg Robbed 3 Times In A Month — Another Suspect In Custody: Police Sheetz Stores In Leesburg Robbed 3 Times In A Month — Another Suspect In Custody: Police
Sheetz Stores In Leesburg Robbed 3 Times In A Month — Another Suspect In Custody: Police For the third time in less than a month, a Sheetz in Virginia was the scene of an armed robbery — and police say another suspect just turned himself in. Jairo Amaya Sorto surrendered to Leesburg Police on Sunday, June 15, after being wanted in connection with an armed robbery at the Sheetz on Edwards Ferry Road, authorities announced Tuesday. The early morning hold-up happened on May 8, when three masked suspects — one armed — stormed the store and made off with cash, police said.  Sorto was charged with robbery using a firearm and is being held without bond. It was the first of thre…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Gun-Wielding Lexington Park Teen Caught Hiding In Bushes After Threat Incident: Sheriff Gun-Wielding Lexington Park Teen Caught Hiding In Bushes After Threat Incident: Sheriff
Gun-Wielding Lexington Park Teen Caught Hiding In Bushes After Threat Incident: Sheriff An 18-year-old is facing multiple charges after allegedly threatening someone with a gun and running from deputies in Southern Maryland, authorities said. Javontay Kyree Nolan, of Lexington Park, was arrested on Monday, June 16, following a firearm threat investigation in a residential neighborhood, according to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies were called to the area around 2:10 p.m. for a reported threat involving a handgun. When they arrived, a man told deputies that a verbal argument escalated when Nolan “allegedly threatened the victim and displayed a handgun before fl…

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
Tree Slams Through Gaithersburg Teen’s Room — Now He’s Raising Funds For His Family (PHOTOS) Tree Slams Through Gaithersburg Teen’s Room — Now He’s Raising Funds For His Family (PHOTOS)
Tree Slams Through Gaithersburg Teen’s Room — Now He’s Raising Funds For His Family (Photos) A Maryland teenager is stepping up in a major way after a massive pine tree came crashing through his family’s home, leaving him, his mom, and his little sister without a place to live. Ronnie Rodgers, a 17-year-old high school junior, launched a GoFundMe campaign on behalf of his mother, Keyisha Bloomfield, after a 70-foot tree fell through their Gaithersburg home on Friday, June 6.  The powerful crash tore through the ceiling and left insulation, wood, and splinters scattered across their bedrooms — just inches from where the teen sleeps. The aftermath of the incident in Gait…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
32 Displaced By Kitchen Fire In Germantown Apartment, Officials Say 32 Displaced By Kitchen Fire In Germantown Apartment, Officials Say
32 Displaced By Kitchen Fire In Germantown Apartment, Officials Say More than 30 people were forced from their homes after a kitchen fire tore through a Maryland apartment building, fire officials said. Montgomery County Fire & Rescue crews were called to the 18000 block of Cottage Garden Drive around 12:45 p.m. on Monday, June 16, for reports of a kitchen fire on the third floor of an apartment complex, according to a department spokesperson. Firefighters arrived to find smoke showing from the upper-level unit, though it was brought under control with no injuries initially reported. According to investigators, the fire originated in a void space above…

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by Zak Failla
Sports
Phillies' Zack Wheeler Will Retire After 2027 To Focus On Family: Report Phillies' Zack Wheeler Will Retire After 2027 To Focus On Family: Report
Phillies' Zack Wheeler Will Retire After 2027 To Focus On Family: Report The one who got away from the New York Mets is ready to step away from the Philadelphia Phillies. Ace Zack Wheeler, among the best pitchers in baseball, is ready to trade fastballs for fatherhood when his $126 million contract expires at the end of the 2027 season, according to a new report from The Athletic. The multi-time All-Star and Cy Young Award finalist indicated that he plans to hang up his cleats two years from now, when he will be 37, to be surrounded by his family, which includes four children. Once a top Mets prospect after being drafted by the San Francisco Giants, Wheeler spe…

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
Measles Exposure Alert Issued In DC, Maryland, Virginia After Infected Traveler Visits Region Measles Exposure Alert Issued In DC, Maryland, Virginia After Infected Traveler Visits Region
Measles Exposure Alert Issued In DC, Maryland, Virginia After Infected Traveler Visits Region A confirmed case of measles in a traveler has sparked a regional health alert in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. DC Health is warning residents of possible measles exposure after an international traveler visited multiple high-traffic areas across the DMV earlier this month. The infected person visited airports, Metro stations, buses, a school in Chevy Chase, and a pediatric clinic in DC, officials announced. The public may have been exposed on the following dates and times: June 8, 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Dulles International Airport, Concourse A to baggage claim; June 8, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m…

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by Zak Failla
News
Rabid Raccoon Bites Two In Maryland, Public Health Alert Issued In Silver Spring: Officials Rabid Raccoon Bites Two In Maryland, Public Health Alert Issued In Silver Spring: Officials
Rabid Raccoon Bites Two In Maryland, Public Health Alert Issued In Silver Spring: Officials A raccoon that bit two people in Maryland may have rabies, and health officials are urging the public to stay away, fast. Montgomery County officials have issued an urgent alert after a raccoon bit two individuals in the 1800 block of Franwall Avenue in Silver Spring, the Office of Animal Services and Department of Health and Human Services said Monday, June 16. The raccoon may be infected with rabies, a deadly virus that attacks the central nervous system and spreads through bites or saliva, officials said. "Rabies is considered a medical emergency," the department warned. Officials are …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Gun-Wielding Woman Threatened DC Police Before Officer-Involved Shooting: MPD Gun-Wielding Woman Threatened DC Police Before Officer-Involved Shooting: MPD
Gun-Wielding Woman Threatened DC Police Before Officer-Involved Shooting: MPD A domestic call in DC turned dangerous when a woman pulled a gun on first responders, leading to an officer-involved shooting, police said. Nashell Sowells, 43, of Northwest DC, is facing multiple charges after an armed standoff with police early Saturday, June 14, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Around 2:20 a.m., MPD officers responded to a domestic disturbance inside a home in the 600 block of Newton Place NW. As officers tried to calm the situation, the she “produced a firearm,” police said. “MPD members made multiple loud commands for the suspect to drop the weapon,” …

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by Zak Failla
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