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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

Obituaries
Virginia Teacher Killed When Tree Falls On Car 'Was Light In Every Room,' Family Says Virginia Teacher Killed When Tree Falls On Car 'Was Light In Every Room,' Family Says
Virginia Teacher Killed When Tree Falls On Car 'Was Light In Every Room,' Family Says She spent her life lifting up young minds — and her sudden loss has shaken a Virginia community to its core. Juliana Kai Russell, 27, a beloved business and information technology teacher at Thomas A. Edison High School in Alexandria, was killed when a tree fell onto her vehicle during the recent severe storms in Fairfax County, according to police and family. Officers with the Fairfax County Police Department responded on Friday, May 16 to the area of Frye Road and Pole Road in Woodlawn, where they found a 2020 Toyota Camry crushed under a fallen tree.  Russell, the driver, was found…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
What Happened In The Woods? 24-Year-Old From DC Killed In Maryland, Shooter Charged: Police What Happened In The Woods? 24-Year-Old From DC Killed In Maryland, Shooter Charged: Police
What Happened In The Woods? 24-Year-Old From DC Killed In Maryland, Shooter Charged: Police A 60-year-old Maryland man has been charged with murder after police say he shot and killed a 24-year-old in a wooded area following a dispute. Michael Holly, of Capitol Heights, is accused of killing District resident Isiah Hunter, in what detectives believe was a fight between people who knew each other, according to the Prince George’s County Police Department. At approximately 1:40 p.m. on Sunday, March 23, officers responded to the 1200 block of Boones Hill Road in Capitol Heights for a report of human remains that were found in the area. When they arrived, they found Hunter dead in t…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
'Cut And Run' Hollywood Man Caught After Snipping Off GPS Monitor, Fleeing Before Trial 'Cut And Run' Hollywood Man Caught After Snipping Off GPS Monitor, Fleeing Before Trial
'Cut And Run' Hollywood Man Caught After Snipping Off GPS Monitor, Fleeing Before Trial A Southern Maryland man who snipped off his ankle monitor and disappeared while awaiting trial has been caught, authorities said. Andrew Phillip Nelson, 29, of Hollywood, was apprehended without incident on Wednesday, May 28, in Mechanicsville, according to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office. Nelson had been on the run since April 21, when deputies responded to a tampering alert from his GPS monitoring device in the 43000 block of Saint Johns Road in Hollywood. When they got there, they found the device ditched—and no sign of Nelson. A witness told deputies they saw Nelson use bolt cu…

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by Zak Failla
Business
'Proud American' Who Immigrated From Ethiopia Wins $1M Scratch-Off Prize In Maryland 'Proud American' Who Immigrated From Ethiopia Wins $1M Scratch-Off Prize In Maryland
'Proud American' Who Immigrated From Ethiopia Wins $1M Scratch-Off Prize In Maryland He came to the US with curiosity, learned the ropes — and just scratched his way to $1 million. A Silver Spring man, who calls himself a “proud American citizen” originally from Ethiopia, has claimed a $1 million top prize from the Maryland Lottery’s Gold Rush 777 scratch-off game, officials said. The winner, who chose to remain anonymous, said the Lottery was completely foreign to him when he arrived in the country, but he paid attention, listened to friends, and slowly figured it out. “It was all new to me,” he said. “But thankfully I took the time to learn.” That patience paid off big.…

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by Zak Failla
News
Coast Guard Vet, OnlyFans Model Admits To Killing Man At National Park: DOJ Coast Guard Vet, OnlyFans Model Admits To Killing Man At National Park: DOJ
Coast Guard Vet, OnlyFans Model Admits To Killing Man At National Park: DOJ A Coast Guard veteran from Virginia admitted to luring an alleged rapist to a national park in Ohio before gunning him down, authorities announced this week. Chelsea Perkins, 35, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty to driving more than 300 miles across state lines after arranging to meet Matthew Dunmire at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Valley View, Ohio.  According to prosecutors, Perkins, who reportedly became an OnlyFans model, traveled in March 2021 to the national park, where she and Dunmire visited the Terra Vista Natural Study Area. There, she used a loaded fire…

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by Zak Failla
News
Teen Obsessed With School Shootings Is Sentenced — But His Probation Is What’s Turning Heads Teen Obsessed With School Shootings Is Sentenced — But His Probation Is What’s Turning Heads
Teen Obsessed With School Shootings Is Sentenced — But His Probation Is What’s Turning Heads A Maryland teenager who wrote a 129-page manifesto fantasizing about carrying out a school shooting in Maryland has been sentenced — and his probation will come with rare conditions. Alex Ye, 19, of Rockville, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with all but 12 months suspended, and five years of supervised probation after being convicted of making threats of mass violence, Montgomery County prosecutors announced. Ye waived credit for the 14 months he’s already spent behind bars since his April 2024 arrest. His sentence starts now. Ye was arrested last year after a concerned friend called…

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by Zak Failla
News
Drunk Driver Shot While Speeding Toward CIA HQ Gate Had Prior DUI, Feds Say Drunk Driver Shot While Speeding Toward CIA HQ Gate Had Prior DUI, Feds Say
Drunk Driver Shot While Speeding Toward CIA HQ Gate Had Prior DUI, Feds Say Monia Spadaro was drunk, driving the wrong way, had a DUI on her record — and kept going even after cops opened fire outside CIA headquarter in Virginia Spadaro, the woman who was shot after trying to drive through a security gate at the CIA’s main entrance in Fairfax County, was intoxicated at the time and already had a prior DUI conviction, according to a newly filed federal affidavit. The early-morning incident happened just after 3:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 22, when Spadaro’s gray Toyota Corolla entered the outbound lane of the CIA’s Langley campus — a direct violation of clearly marked …

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by Zak Failla
News
Sex Offender Faked MLB Career, Scammed Women, Skipped Registry In Virginia: DOJ Sex Offender Faked MLB Career, Scammed Women, Skipped Registry In Virginia: DOJ
Sex Offender Faked MLB Career, Scammed Women, Skipped Registry In Virginia: DOJ He said he was going pro in baseball — but what he really went pro in was lying, scamming, and disappearing from the sex offender registry, prosecutors in Virginia say. A Roanoke man who told women he was a Major League Baseball prospect, forged six-figure checks, used burner phones to impersonate team officials, and failed to register as a sex offender has pleaded guilty in federal court as part of an elaborate scheme, federal officials announced. He went by many names while executing his scheme. Janike Dunbar Holt, 29 — also known as “Nike,” “Janike Tagovailoa,” “Keanu Tagovailoa,” and “…

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
Columbia Man Nearly Throws Away $1M Ticket — Then Digs Into Trash And Strikes Gold Columbia Man Nearly Throws Away $1M Ticket — Then Digs Into Trash And Strikes Gold
Columbia Man Nearly Throws Away $1M Ticket — Then Digs Into Trash And Strikes Gold He was one trash can away from disaster in Maryland. A Howard County truck driver nearly tossed away a $1 million winning scratch-off ticket—but had a second thought, dug it back out of the trash, and is now a millionaire. The man made the lucky purchase while stopped at the Travel Centers of America rest stop on Elkton Road in Cecil County, according to Maryland Lottery officials. Google Maps street view He’d been dealing with busted windshield wipers and needed a coffee break, they said. After grabbing both, he picked up a few scratch-offs on a whim.  His final choice? A $20…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Virginia Man Walks Out Of Jail, Steals Car From Fairfax Courthouse, Breaks Into Home: Police Virginia Man Walks Out Of Jail, Steals Car From Fairfax Courthouse, Breaks Into Home: Police
Virginia Man Walks Out Of Jail, Steals Car From Fairfax Courthouse, Breaks Into Home: Police He walked out of jail — then stole a car and broke into a home, police say. A Woodbridge man is back behind bars after Fairfax County Police say he stole a vehicle from the courthouse parking lot shortly after being released from jail, then burglarized a woman’s home in Burke later the same day. Derling Gustavo Hernandez, 28, had just been released from the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on Tuesday, May 27 when police say he stole a car from the Fairfax County Courthouse. Just hours later, at around 7 p.m., officers were called to the 9500 block of Millgate Place in Burke after a wo…

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by Zak Failla
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