64°

Friday, aug 8

Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

zfailla@dailyvoice.com

FOLLOW ON

Facebook Twitter Linkedin Instagram

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

News

Man Posed As Teen To Lure Girls As Young As 13 With Drugs For Sex In DMV Region: Feds A 33-year-old Maryland man who targeted teen girls on social media to exchange drugs for sexual images and acts is facing decades in prison, federal authorities announced. Brooklyn Park resident Charles Anthony Forame IV pleaded guilty this week to federal child exploitation charges after he preyed on middle and high school students between the ages of 13 and 16. According to his guilty plea, Forame posed as a 19-year-old on Snapchat to get his victims to speak with him, then coerced them into sharing explicit images, and in some instances, sexual acts in person. In exchange, prosecutors s…

by Zak Failla

08/07/2025

Police & Fire

Ex-Youth Pastor Abused Children At Maryland Church, Home: Police A former youth pastor from Georgia is now behind bars after Baltimore County detectives say he’s been linked to multiple sex abuse cases dating back nearly two decades. Detectives with the Baltimore County Police Department’s Crimes Against Children Unit arrested 52-year-old Thomas "Tommy" Pinkerton following abuse allegations reported to have occurred between 2006 and 2010 at Central Christian Church. According to investigators, the alleged abuse happened at the church in the 7400 block of Rossville Boulevard and at Pinkerton’s Baltimore County home, officials said. The Georgia resid…

by Zak Failla

08/07/2025

Police & Fire

100+ MPH Virginia Pursuit Ends In Airborne Crash On I‑395, Three Injured: State Police A Virginia man is facing charges after a high-speed police chase ended in a violent crash that left two innocent people seriously hurt, authorities said. Cameron D. Teach, 22, of Henrico, is facing multiple charges after taking Virginia State Police troopers on a wild chase that started on I-95 and ended with a fiery crash. Shortly before 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 6, a trooper attempted to stop a Teach's Honda sedan that was “traveling at a high rate of speed” in the northbound lanes of the interstate near the 158-mile marker in Prince William County, according to police. The dri…

by Zak Failla

08/07/2025

Politics

Trump Threatens to Deploy National Guard To ‘Beautify’ Crime-Ridden DC President Donald Trump is doubling down on his threats to take over Washington, DC, amid a spike in youth crime. The latest call from the president comes after a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee was assaulted by a group of teenagers during a violent carjacking. It was just the latest instance of violence involving minors in DC — who do not face as strict criminal charges as adults would under the current law, something that Trump took umbrage to. In a fiery Truth Social post shared Tuesday, Trump slammed the District’s handling of what he called “out-of-control” v…

by Zak Failla

08/06/2025

News

Musician, Father Awakens After Sudden Collapse In DMV, Spends Weeks In ICU Paul Anderson has always been the kind of person who lights up a room — whether he's on stage with his rock and roll band or simply lending a helping hand to someone in need. But on the morning of June 3, everything changed for the Maryland family. Loved ones rallying around the family say that morning, Anderson suffered a "sudden cardiovascular episode” that left him unresponsive at home", where his family found him and performed life-saving efforts. Anderson would go on to spend the next six weeks in the ICU, sedated and “fighting for his life,” organizers of a fundraiser said…

by Zak Failla

08/06/2025

News

Virginia Girl Interviewed About Predator As His Phone With Child Porn Turns Up Nearby: Sheriff A pair of police investigations targeting a predator preying on young girls in Virginia ended with a 53-year-old man behind bars for child porn offenses, authorities announced. Darian Martin, a registered sex offender, found himself in the crosshairs of investigators in Caroline County when two separate probes crisscrossed and ended with him facing a host of charges. According to the Caroline County Sheriff's Office, on Sunday, Aug. 3, parents discovered "troubling" text messages between their 13-year-old daughter and an adult - later identified as Martin. Among the messages uncovere…

by Zak Failla

08/06/2025

Police & Fire

Toddler Hit By Phone During Domestic Dispute In Virginia Hospitalized, Police Say A 1-year-old Virginia girl was hospitalized after being hit in the head with a phone during a domestic dispute involving family members, police said. Officers with the Prince William County Police Department responded to Somerset Pointe Apartments on Godfrey Street in Gainesville just after 10 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 4, to investigate a reported domestic incident. The investigation determined that Dejahne Laniya Delaney, 28, and a relative were arguing when Delaney allegedly threw a phone that struck the girl in the head, according to police on Wednesday. The child was being held by the other…

by Zak Failla

08/06/2025

News

Family Seeks Help For Beloved Bartender After Heart Attack In DMV: 'There's Only One Paulie' To know Paulie Smith is to love him, friends and family in Maryland say. Smith, a "beloved friend, teammate, brother, father, and bartender," is facing an arduous road to recovery after suffering a massive heart attack and heart failure. Now, his loved ones are rallying to support him and his family following the unexpected medical emergency for the man with a "large heart, loving (and) loud personality, and his smile and laugh (have) touched us all at one time or another." Organizers of a fundraiser that raised nearly $9,000 in less than 24 hours said that they are coming together to "ask…

by Zak Failla

08/06/2025

Police & Fire

Teen Suits Up Like State Trooper, Plays Cop With Stolen Cruiser In DMV: Police A Maryland teen truly went rogue and is accused of going full "wannabe cop" complete with a uniform and patrol vehicle, according to authorities. Jayden Ballard, 19, of Salisbury, was charged with impersonating a police officer and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, Maryland State Police announced Wednesday, Aug. 6. following a probe into complaints made earlier this year. Ballard was served a criminal summons in February after troopers were tipped off that he had gained access to a marked Maryland State Police cruiser and was posing as a trooper around Wicomico County. State Police belie…

by Zak Failla

08/06/2025

Police & Fire

Armed, Drunk Virginia Man Rams Car, Flees Cops In Wild Highway Chase: Police A Culpeper man is behind bars after allegedly flashing a gun, fleeing from police, and smashing into another driver during a reckless highway pursuit, officials said. Scott L. Wilks, 60, of Culpeper, was arrested after he allegedly sparked a fight at a business on the 700 block of Nalles Mill Road and then took off — armed and intoxicated — before crashing into another vehicle, the Culpeper Police Department said. Police were called around 8:40 p.m. after a fight broke out between two customers. Things quickly escalated. After the physical altercation, Wilks allegedly went to hi…

by Zak Failla

08/06/2025

Prev Page 2 of 3445 1 2 3 4 5 Next

11 - 20 of 34,446 articles