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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

Schools
Teacher In Coma After Being Hit By Car On First Day Of Dream Vacation To Argentina Teacher In Coma After Being Hit By Car On First Day Of Dream Vacation To Argentina
Teacher In Coma After Being Hit By Car On First Day Of Dream Vacation To Argentina It was the first night of a dream vacation she had planned for a year — but instead of exploring Argentina, Lia Marie Johnson is fighting for her life. Johnson, a preschool teacher at Little Tree Huggers in Leesburg, was struck by a vehicle last month while returning to her Airbnb, according to her family.  The trip marked the start of a long-anticipated getaway to visit family, but it quickly turned into a nightmare. According to the organizers of a GoFundMe campaign set up for the family, Johnson suffered a traumatic brain injury, multiple fractures, and a perforated lung.  Sh…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Speeding Teen Thought He Got Away On I-95—Stafford Deputy Had Other Plans, Sheriff Says Speeding Teen Thought He Got Away On I-95—Stafford Deputy Had Other Plans, Sheriff Says
Speeding Teen Thought He Got Away On I-95—Stafford Deputy Had Other Plans, Sheriff Says A 16-year-old Virginia teen who thought he got away after a high-speed chase on I-95 didn’t make it far — because the deputy he tried to ditch was already waiting at home, the sheriff’s office said. The teen, a repeat offender, is facing a long list of charges after allegedly taking a relative’s Toyota without permission and trying to outrun law enforcement during a reckless pursuit, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, July 25. A deputy was patrolling I-95 northbound near mile marker 142 around 6:55 p.m. on Tuesday, July 23, when a Toyota blew past him going 86 mp…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
$1.5M Fire Erupts At Maryland Truck Shop After Gas Vapors Ignite: Officials $1.5M Fire Erupts At Maryland Truck Shop After Gas Vapors Ignite: Officials
$1.5M Fire Erupts At Maryland Truck Shop After Gas Vapors Ignite: Officials A fast-moving two-alarm fire that caused $1.5 million in damage ripped through a Hagerstown towing and repair business after a mechanic siphoning gasoline accidentally sparked an explosion, state fire investigators said. The blaze broke out around 4:23 p.m. on Thursday, July 24, at Main Truck Towing & Repair Inc. on Label Lane, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal. Investigators said the fire started in a rear vehicle bay when flammable vapors ignited as the mechanic siphoned fuel from a diesel motor.  The mechanic suffered serious burns to his lower body and was airlifted…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Maryland Man Sexually Abused 10-Year-Old Child In His Home, Jury Finds Maryland Man Sexually Abused 10-Year-Old Child In His Home, Jury Finds
Maryland Man Sexually Abused 10-Year-Old Child In His Home, Jury Finds A Maryland jury has convicted a man of sexually abusing a child under 10 years old inside his home, prosecutors announced Wednesday. Logan Littleton, 29, of Seaford, Delaware, was found guilty of three counts of sexual abuse of a minor after a three-day trial in Wicomico County Circuit Court, officials said. The abuse happened between 2014 and 2015 and involved a minor who lived in the same household as Littleton, according to the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office. Littleton will remain in custody while the court awaits a pre-sentence investigation and mental health assessment, aut…

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by Zak Failla
Traffic
One Killed After Car Bursts Into Flames Off I-95/495 In Maryland: Fire Officials One Killed After Car Bursts Into Flames Off I-95/495 In Maryland: Fire Officials
One Killed After Car Bursts Into Flames Off I-95/495 In Maryland: Fire Officials One person was killed overnight when their car veered off I-95 and burst into flames in Maryland, officials said. Fire crews were called around 3:20 a.m. Friday, July 25, to a stretch of the southbound lanes of the interstate near the Capital Beltway (Exit 27), where they found a single vehicle in a ditch fully engulfed in flames, according to the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department. Firefighters were quickly able to knock down the flames, though first responders declared one occupant of the vehicle dead at the scene, officials said later on Friday morning. Maryland State Police is …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
July 4 Shooting Left 1 Dead, 7 Hurt — Now Maryland Man Faces Life In Prison July 4 Shooting Left 1 Dead, 7 Hurt — Now Maryland Man Faces Life In Prison
July 4 Shooting Left 1 Dead, 7 Hurt — Now Maryland Man Faces Life In Prison A Maryland man could spend the rest of his life in prison after police say he opened fire on a Fourth of July crowd, killing one person and injuring several others. Antravon Harmon was found guilty of multiple charges connected to the chaotic shooting that broke out just after midnight on July 5, 2023, during a neighborhood party on Chippewa Boulevard in Salisbury. Prosecutors said Harmon and another man showed up armed with handguns and confronted a group that included Xavier Maddox.  They opened fire into the crowd, sparking a shootout that left Maddox dead and seven others wounded.…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Toddler Found In ‘Unkempt State’ Outside Woodbridge Home; Virginia Mom Wanted: Police Toddler Found In ‘Unkempt State’ Outside Woodbridge Home; Virginia Mom Wanted: Police
Toddler Found In ‘Unkempt State’ Outside Woodbridge Home; Virginia Mom Wanted: Police A Virginia mother is wanted for felony child neglect after allegedly refusing to come home when her toddler son was found outside in an unkempt condition, police said. Officers from the Prince William County Police Department were called to the 4000 block of Dawson Beach Road in Woodbridge around 9:15 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23, for a found child, according to authorities. Investigators said the 2-year-old boy had been left unsupervised for an “extended period of time” by his mother, identified as 37-year-old Alexandra Anna Granruth. Police said Granruth called an acquaintance around 2 p.m…

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by Zak Failla
News
‘Career Criminal’ Who Stalked, Killed Man In Broad Daylight Outside Baltimore Mart Gets Life ‘Career Criminal’ Who Stalked, Killed Man In Broad Daylight Outside Baltimore Mart Gets Life
‘Career Criminal’ Who Stalked, Killed Man In Broad Daylight Outside Baltimore Mart Gets Life A violent career criminal who stalked his victim across Baltimore and gunned him down in broad daylight will now spend the rest of his life in prison. Tony Dukes, 58, was sentenced to life plus 35 years for murdering Eugene Fitzgerald in front of the Penn Mart in Baltimore, State’s Attorney Ivan Bates announced Thursday, July 24. The shooting happened around 4:45 p.m. on March 26, 2024, when officers were called to the 1800 block of Pennsylvania Avenue and found Fitzgerald shot multiple times, police said. “This was a senseless act committed in broad daylight by a repeat violent offender w…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
$1.1M Townhouse Fire In DMV Caused By Spontaneous Combustion: Report $1.1M Townhouse Fire In DMV Caused By Spontaneous Combustion: Report
$1.1M Townhouse Fire In DMV Caused By Spontaneous Combustion: Report A fast-moving early morning blaze tore through multiple Virginia townhouses, causing more than $1.1 million in damage, fire officials said. Firefighters responded around 4:45 a.m. Wednesday, July 23, to the 5000 block of Dunstable Lane in the Kingstowne area, where flames and smoke were seen pouring from the rear of several units, according to the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department. A second alarm was quickly called as crews worked to knock down the flames to prevent it from spreading, officials said. #FairfaxsBravest are on scene of a 2-alarm townhouse fire in the 5000 blk of Du…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Maryland Women Killed In Route 301 Crash With Utility Truck, MSP Says Maryland Women Killed In Route 301 Crash With Utility Truck, MSP Says
Maryland Women Killed In Route 301 Crash With Utility Truck, MSP Says Two women were killed when a utility truck slammed into their car while they were crossing Route 301 in Queen Anne’s County, authorities said. Valerie Haines, 63, and Patricia Mead, 86, both of Ridgely, died at the scene of a violent two-vehicle crash on Thursday, July 24 in Church Hill, according to Maryland State Police. Troopers said the crash happened shortly before 12:30 p.m. at the intersection of southbound US Route 301 and Price Station Road. Preliminary reports indicate a utility truck was heading south on Route 301 when it struck a Toyota Camry attempting to cross the highway, po…

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by Zak Failla
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