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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
Global Swatting Ringleader Who Targeted Congress, Churches, Media Pleads Guilty: DOJ Global Swatting Ringleader Who Targeted Congress, Churches, Media Pleads Guilty: DOJ
Global Swatting Ringleader Who Targeted Congress, Churches, Media Pleads Guilty: DOJ A Romanian man who led a global swatting ring that targeted members of Congress, churches, and even a former US president has pleaded guilty, federal officials announced. Thomasz Szabo, 26, known online as “Plank,” “Jonah,” and “Cypher,” entered his guilty plea in federal court this week, according to the US Department of Justice. Szabo was extradited from Romania in November 2024 and admitted to running a years-long online conspiracy that involved making fake bomb and mass-shooting threats across the United States, investigators said. He and his crew targeted more than 75 public officials…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Child Predator Targeting Girls From Behind Bars Gets 25 More Years In Virginia: AG Child Predator Targeting Girls From Behind Bars Gets 25 More Years In Virginia: AG
Child Predator Targeting Girls From Behind Bars Gets 25 More Years In Virginia: AG He was already serving time for preying on children — then investigators say he did it again, from inside a Virginia prison. A Middlesex County man has been sentenced to 25 more years behind bars after investigators say he targeted multiple underage girls from inside a Virginia prison, Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Tuesday, June 3. Daniel Ebinger, 28, was convicted of two counts of use of a communications system to solicit a minor.  The new sentence, handed down by a Middlesex County Circuit Court judge, will be served consecutively to the 7-year sentence he received in 202…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
10-Month Manhunt Ends With Arrests Of Virginia Trio Tied To Alexandria Shooting: Police 10-Month Manhunt Ends With Arrests Of Virginia Trio Tied To Alexandria Shooting: Police
10-Month Manhunt Ends With Arrests Of Virginia Trio Tied To Alexandria Shooting: Police A 10-month manhunt, ballistic testing, and multi-agency teamwork finally brought down a trio of violent suspects accused of spraying bullets into a Virginia home last year, police said. It took nearly a year, but all three suspects in a 2024 Alexandria shooting that rocked a residential neighborhood are now behind bars, according to police. Justin McKnight, 22, of Alexandria; Demetrius Charlton, 22, of Fairfax; and Jhamal Muskelly, 20, of Alexandria, have each been charged with shooting into an occupied dwelling, the Alexandria Police Department announced Tuesday, June 3. The charges stem …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
5+ Pounds Of Pot Found Inside Tesla At Pasadena Royal Farms, Police Say 5+ Pounds Of Pot Found Inside Tesla At Pasadena Royal Farms, Police Say
5+ Pounds Of Pot Found Inside Tesla At Pasadena Royal Farms, Police Say You can’t charge your car and your dealer at the same time — just ask the Maryland Tesla driver busted with a car full of pot and cash. A Pasadena man is facing charges after police say he was caught with more than five pounds of marijuana and nearly $15,000 in cash inside his Tesla at a Royal Farms in Anne Arundel County. Officers were checking on a silver Tesla parked at 2500 Mountain Road in Pasadena just after 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 3, when they spotted suspected drug activity, according to Anne Arundel County Police. Police say they saw drug paraphernalia in plain view inside the…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Police Officer From Accokeek Filed Fake Reports, Vandalized Cars For Insurance Payouts: Feds Police Officer From Accokeek Filed Fake Reports, Vandalized Cars For Insurance Payouts: Feds
Police Officer From Accokeek Filed Fake Reports, Vandalized Cars For Insurance Payouts: Feds Two former police officers in Maryland used their badges to file fake theft reports, vandalize cars, and collect payouts—with one even taking a $1,000 Cash App bribe, prosecutors said. Now, they face justice. Michael Anthony Owen Jr., 36, of Accokeek, and Jaron Earl Taylor, 31, of Fort Washington, pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with a wide-ranging insurance fraud scheme, according to the US Attorney’s Office on Tuesday, June 3. Owen admitted to falsifying records, while Taylor pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  Both were working as officers—Owen with…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
‘My Body Told Me To Steal A Gun’: Felon Busted At Sonic After Wild Stafford Break-In: Sheriff ‘My Body Told Me To Steal A Gun’: Felon Busted At Sonic After Wild Stafford Break-In: Sheriff
‘My Body Told Me To Steal A Gun’: Felon Busted At Sonic After Wild Stafford Break-In: Sheriff His body told him to do it. Deputies told him to get in the back of the cruiser. A convicted felon who said “my body told me to steal a gun” is back behind bars after a brazen theft attempt outside a Sonic in Stafford County, authorities said. Kenneth Gibson, 36, of Culpeper, was arrested on Sunday, June 1, after deputies say he broke into a stranger’s car and tried to swipe a handgun in the parking lot of Sonic on McWhirt Loop, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies were called to the scene around 7:37 p.m. that night after a man reported someone he didn’t know was si…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Teen Kidnapper Smashed Into Car With Rock After Victim Locked Him Out In PG County: MoCo Police Teen Kidnapper Smashed Into Car With Rock After Victim Locked Him Out In PG County: MoCo Police
Teen Kidnapper Smashed Into Car With Rock After Victim Locked Him Out In PG County: MoCo Police She screamed for help. Her captor got locked out. Then the teen used a rock to smash his way back in before being busted for kidnapping in Maryland. A Burtonsville teen is behind bars after a terrifying kidnapping that started in Montgomery County and spiraled into a high-drama scene in Prince George’s County, police said. Joel Akakpo, 18, is charged with kidnapping and second-degree assault following a Sunday evening incident that police say involved screams, shattered glass, and a desperate attempt to escape. Officers were first called around 6:25 p.m. on June 1 to Wexhall Drive and Gree…

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by Zak Failla
Business
First $1M Winning Powerball Ticket Of 2025 Sold At Parkville Safeway First $1M Winning Powerball Ticket Of 2025 Sold At Parkville Safeway
First $1M Winning Powerball Ticket Of 2025 Sold At Parkville Safeway Check those numbers, Maryland — someone just went from grocery run to millionaire. A Powerball ticket worth $1 million was sold in Parkville for the Monday, June 2 drawing, marking Maryland’s first second-tier Powerball win of 2025, according to the Maryland Lottery. The lucky numbers were: 01-07-44-57-61, with a Powerball of 21. The winning ticket was purchased at the Safeway located at 8858 Waltham Woods Road in Baltimore County. For selling the hot ticket, the store will receive a $2,500 bonus from the Lottery. Officials are urging the mystery winner to sign the back of the ticket imme…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
1 Killed, 1 Fighting For Life After Midday Shooting In PG County Apartment: Police (DEVELOPING) 1 Killed, 1 Fighting For Life After Midday Shooting In PG County Apartment: Police (DEVELOPING)
1 Killed, 1 Fighting For Life After Midday Shooting In PG County Apartment: Police (Developing) A quiet Maryland neighborhood turned into a crime scene Tuesday after a midday shooting inside a Prince George’s County apartment left one man dead and another clinging to life. The shooting happened around 12:35 p.m. on June 3, in the 5600 block of Regency Park Court, according to the Prince George’s County Police Department. Officers responded to reports of gunfire and found two adult men inside an apartment suffering from gunshot wounds, officials said.  One of the men was pronounced dead at the scene. The other was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, police said at aroun…

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by Zak Failla
News
Leonardtown EMS Stole, Used Fentanyl Meant For Patients In Maryland, Prosecutors Say Leonardtown EMS Stole, Used Fentanyl Meant For Patients In Maryland, Prosecutors Say
Leonardtown EMS Stole, Used Fentanyl Meant For Patients In Maryland, Prosecutors Say A once-trusted paramedic in Maryland is now a convicted drug thief after prosecutors say he siphoned fentanyl from vials meant for emergency patients—and he's facing more trouble in a neighboring county. Thomas Patrick Raley, 40, of Leonardtown, was convicted on Monday, June 2, of possessing fentanyl and theft under $100 in Calvert County District Court, officials announced the next day. Prosecutors said Raley was working a paid shift at the Dunkirk Volunteer Fire Department on July 13, 2024, when he removed fentanyl from three vials intended for patients and used the powerful narcotic hims…

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by Zak Failla
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