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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

News
Charlestown Grandfather Months From Retirement Killed by 'Grossly Negligent' Driver: Officials Charlestown Grandfather Months From Retirement Killed by 'Grossly Negligent' Driver: Officials
Charlestown Grandfather Months From Retirement Killed by 'Grossly Negligent' Driver: Officials A distracted Maryland driver who took the life of a beloved husband and grandfather in a deadly head-on crash is heading to prison for years, authorities announced on Friday. Charles DeStefano, Jr., of Elkton, has been sentenced to serve six years in prison after being convicted of speeding and causing the fatal crash that claimed the life of William R. Rupp in September 2023, according to the Cecil County State's Attorney's Office. This week, DeStefano was handed the sentence by Cecil County Circuit Court Administrative Judge Brenda Sexton after being convicted in June of grossly negligent…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Mercedes Grocery Heist In Waldorf Ends In Crash; $1.2K Stash Recovered: Sheriff Mercedes Grocery Heist In Waldorf Ends In Crash; $1.2K Stash Recovered: Sheriff
Mercedes Grocery Heist In Waldorf Ends In Crash; $1.2K Stash Recovered: Sheriff A Mercedes getaway car loaded with stolen groceries turned a Maryland theft into a crash-and-chase case, according to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies say the suspects — Lonnell Demontae Jennings, 27, and Khadijah Tufaye Spurlock, 24, both of Washington, DC — stuffed a shopping cart with about $1,200 worth of detergent, meat, and other items from a Waldorf grocery store before trying to make a quick escape. Patrol officers in Charles County spotted the pair getting into a white Mercedes ML350 in the store’s parking lot around 10:59 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20. Jennings floored it, bu…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
Kilmar Abrego Garcia Released From Custody In Tennessee After Deportation Outrage In Maryland Kilmar Abrego Garcia Released From Custody In Tennessee After Deportation Outrage In Maryland
Kilmar Abrego Garcia Released From Custody In Tennessee After Deportation Outrage In Maryland "Maryland Man" Kilmar Abrego Garcia has reportedly been released from custody in Tennessee and is heading home months after his detention and deportation made national headlines. The alleged former MS-13 gang member was freed from the Putnam County Jail and is on his way back to Maryland to reunite with his family, according to multiple reports. "Today, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is free," his lawyer, Sean Hecker, said in a statement. "He is presently en route to his family in Maryland, after being unlawfully arrested and deported, and then imprisoned, all because of the government’s vindictive a…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Elkridge Grocery Store Shooting: Security Guard Opens Fire During Altercation, Police Say Elkridge Grocery Store Shooting: Security Guard Opens Fire During Altercation, Police Say
Elkridge Grocery Store Shooting: Security Guard Opens Fire During Altercation, Police Say Shoppers at a Maryland grocery store were had to duck for cover when a fight between security guards and a man ended in gunfire, police said. Howard County police are investigating a shooting that broke out during a midday altercation outside an Elkridge store on Friday afternoon. The incident was reported around 12:40 p.m. on Aug. 22, outside the Green Valley Marketplace on the 7200 block of Montgomery Road, police said. Investigators believe a fight erupted between an armed security guard and a man, during which, one security guard suffered a head injury. A second guard then pulled his …

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by Zak Failla
Sports
Trump Wants World Cup Gold For Oval Office Wall: ‘Can I Keep It?’ Trump Wants World Cup Gold For Oval Office Wall: ‘Can I Keep It?’
Trump Wants World Cup Gold For Oval Office Wall: ‘Can I Keep It?’ President Donald Trump may be eyeing a new gold decoration for the Oval Office. Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino were in DC on Friday afternoon to announce that the 2026 World Cup draw to determine the group stages will be held at noon on Friday, Dec. 5 at the Kennedy Center. The World Cup is scheduled to be co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico between June 11 and July 19, with the event kicking off in the nation's capital with 48 nations eyeing the famed trophy — one that Trump admired during the announcement. "The World Cup is going to be one of the largest and most complex e…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Virginia Infant’s Death Ruled Homicide; Mom, Boyfriend Behind Bars: Sheriff Virginia Infant’s Death Ruled Homicide; Mom, Boyfriend Behind Bars: Sheriff
Virginia Infant’s Death Ruled Homicide; Mom, Boyfriend Behind Bars: Sheriff A Virginia mother and her boyfriend are behind bars after investigators say her 3-month-old baby boy died and his death was ruled a homicide. Angela Holloman, 22, the infant’s mother, and Andrew Phillips, 29, her boyfriend, were both indicted in connection with the death of Asher Holloman last fall. Specifically, both were charged with homicide, abuse/neglect of a child resulting in serious injury, and child endangerment/cruelty. Deputies and Spotsylvania Fire and Rescue rushed to a home in the 12600 block of Orange Plank Road on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, for reports of an infant in respira…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Litter Bug Tosses Can, Trashes Ticket, Ends Up Cuffed In Maryland: Sheriff Litter Bug Tosses Can, Trashes Ticket, Ends Up Cuffed In Maryland: Sheriff
Litter Bug Tosses Can, Trashes Ticket, Ends Up Cuffed In Maryland: Sheriff A Maryland man managed to get himself arrested for littering not once, but twice — after crumpling up the very ticket he’d just been given, officials said. It all started with a routine fuel stop. On Wednesday, Aug. 20, a Wicomico County Sheriff’s sergeant was filling up his patrol vehicle at a convenience store on the 1000 block of Eastern Shore Drive in Salisbury.  That’s when he spotted Dominic Everetts, 59, of Salisbury, hanging out by the building with an open alcoholic beverage, according to the sheriff’s office. Before the sergeant could finish pumping gas, police said Everett…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Virginia Officer, Neighbors Bitten After Pack Of Rottweilers Runs Loose In Manassas: Police Virginia Officer, Neighbors Bitten After Pack Of Rottweilers Runs Loose In Manassas: Police
Virginia Officer, Neighbors Bitten After Pack Of Rottweilers Runs Loose In Manassas: Police Gunshots rang out this week in an otherwise quiet Virginia neighborhood when a pack of three Rottweilers got loose and bit several neighbors and a police officer, authorities said.  A vicious animal complaint ended with one dog shot, two surrendered, and a Manassas pet owner facing charges, according to Prince William County Police. The incident was reported on Wednesday, Aug. 20, around 8:45 a.m. when officers were called to the 7500 block of Whitehall Drive, where the dogs were found roaming the neighborhood and acting aggressively after biting two people. When officers arrived, the…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Virginia Man Secretly Filmed Women’s ‘Upskirts’ At Target, Other Stores: Leesburg Police Virginia Man Secretly Filmed Women’s ‘Upskirts’ At Target, Other Stores: Leesburg Police
Virginia Man Secretly Filmed Women’s ‘Upskirts’ At Target, Other Stores: Leesburg Police A Virginia man’s alleged shopping trips weren’t about groceries or electronics — they were about secretly filming women without their consent, police said. A Bedford man is behind bars after police say he went on a disturbing streak of unlawful filming at Target and other stores across Virginia. The trouble started Saturday, June 28, when Leesburg Police got their first call. A shopper at the Target on Edwards Ferry Road said a man was caught filming inside the store without the victim ever knowing, according to investigators.  By the time officers showed up, the man had bolted. Dete…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
Howard University Shake-Up: President Steps Down, Board Brings Back Familiar Face To Lead Howard University Shake-Up: President Steps Down, Board Brings Back Familiar Face To Lead
Howard University Shake-Up: President Steps Down, Board Brings Back Familiar Face To Lead Howard University has been rocked by a leadership stunner: President Ben Vinson III is stepping down at the end of the month — less than two years after taking the reins at one of the nation’s most prestigious historically Black colleges. Vinson, who began his presidency in September 2023, will officially step down on Sunday, Aug. 31, the Howard University Board of Trustees announced.  The sudden move ends a short tenure that focused on tech growth, AI, data science, and global partnerships. “On behalf of the Howard University Board of Trustees, we extend our sincere gratitude to Dr. …

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by Zak Failla
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