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Saturday, jun 7

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

Police & Fire

Disgraced State Trooper From Smithsburg Sold Out Informant To Drug Dealer: Feds A disgraced former Maryland State Trooper who sold out both his badge and a confidential informant to a drug trafficker is heading to federal prison. Justin Riggs, 35, of Smithsburg, was sentenced on Thursday, June 5, to six years behind bars and three years of supervised release for a scheme to sell sensitive information from an active drug case, federal authorities announced. According to his plea, Riggs was part of a team investigating drug and gun trafficking in Western Maryland when he tried to cash in by selling the identity of a confidential informant to one of the suspects. Ri…

by Zak Failla

06/05/2025

Police & Fire

Snowplow Killer On The Run: Suspect In Howard County School Shooting Fled US: Police A snowplow driver was shot dead while clearing snow at a Maryland school—and now, police say the killer skipped town. The man wanted in the cold-blooded killing of Gwynn Oak resident Alex Ramirez Garcia outside a school parking lot has fled the United States, police in Howard County confirmed Thursday, June 5. An arrest warrant is out for Alexander Molina Rodriguez, 25, of Gwynn Oak, who is wanted for first-degree murder and firearm violations in the death of Garcia, 37. Garcia was working as a private snowplow driver clearing snow outside a Montessori school in the 4400 block of Mont…

by Zak Failla

06/05/2025

Sports

Aaron Rodgers To Join Steelers After NY Jets Disaster: What We Know Aaron Rodgers finally has a new home. After months of speculation, the mercurial future Hall of Famer is set to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers — the team he famously beat in his only Super Bowl win — after a disastrous two-year stint with the Jets. Rodgers reportedly advised the Steelers that he plans to fly into Pennsylvania this week to make it official: he will fill the team's hole at quarterback. ESPN reported that Rodgers will join the team and sign on Friday, June 6, just in time for the Steelers' mandatory minicamp. His one-year deal is worth an estimated $10 million, according …

by Zak Failla

06/05/2025

Police & Fire

Contraband, Inmate Misconduct: Ex-Charles County Jail Guard Admits To Charges, Sheriff Says A Charles County corrections officer who was indicted for inappropriate contact with a female inmate has pleaded guilty and is no longer employed at the jail, authorities announced. Kolbey Cooper, 22, pleaded guilty on Thursday, June 5, to misconduct in office and introducing contraband into a correctional facility, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office said. The charges stem from a March 28, 2025 indictment handed down by a Charles County Grand Jury. Cooper, who had worked at the Charles County Detention Center (CCDC) for two years, was indicted on: Two counts of sexual contact with an inc…

by Zak Failla

06/05/2025

Police & Fire

Maryland Teen Suspected Of DUI In Crash That Killed 88-Year-Old Woman: Police An 88-year-old woman died after an unlicensed Maryland teen suspected of driving drunk slammed into the back of her car at a red light, authorities said. A teenager allegedly drove drunk without a license is under investigation following a crash in Gaithersburg that killed an elderly Rockville woman, according to Montgomery County Police. Officers responded at around 8:35 a.m. Saturday, May 31, to the intersection of Sam Eig Highway and Fields Road, where a blue 2018 Jeep Compass had slammed into the rear of a blue 2017 Toyota Corolla that was stopped at a red light, police said Thursday, J…

by Zak Failla

06/05/2025

News

Missing DC Wife, Mom Vanishes On Way To Work: ‘Every Hour Without Her Is Agonizing’ She left for work and never came home. Now, her family is living every loved one’s worst nightmare. Ana Cecilia “CeCí” Escobar-Arevalo, a 40-year-old wife and mother of two from Northeast DC, hasn’t been seen since the morning of Friday, May 30, when she left home around 7:20 a.m. to head to work—and vanished. Her phone last pinged near Newburg, Maryland. Her car, a blue 2008 Honda CR-V with DC tags (EB2261), hasn’t been found. Her loved ones say she never showed up for her shift—and never returned home. “Ana’s disappearance has shattered our world,” relatives said through a GoFundMe campa…

by Zak Failla

06/05/2025

News

Woman Fatally Struck By School Bus In Baltimore County ID’d: Police A 55-year-old woman was killed after falling into traffic and being struck by a school bus in Baltimore County, authorities confirmed. Lisa Hennessey died at the scene after she fell into the roadway and was hit by a 2015 International Bus near Philadelphia Road and Ridge Road in Rossville around 1:55 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4, Baltimore County Police said. Investigators say that Hennessey was treated at the scene of the crash by first responders, who ultimately pronounced her dead at the scene. The bus was reportedly en route to pick up students on Wednesday afternoon. No other injur…

by Zak Failla

06/05/2025

Police & Fire

Teen Instagram Predator Preyed On Child He Met Online In Manassas, Police Say A 19-year-old Virginia man is being held without bond after allegedly sexually assaulting a young girl he met on Instagram, authorities in Prince William County announced. Widman Eduardo Vicente Lopez, of Manassas, was arrested on Wednesday, June 4 following an investigation into a reported rape that happened between April 27 and April 30 on Nadia Street in Manassas. Detectives say the victim, who is under the age of 13, had been communicating with Vicente Lopez on social media when he began soliciting sexual acts from the child. Police say that Vicente Lopez later met with the g…

by Zak Failla

06/05/2025

Police & Fire

Dumfries Man, 64, Exposed Himself To Girl, 12, On Neighborhood Walk: Police A 64-year-old Virginia man is facing charges after police say he exposed himself to a young girl walking down a neighborhood street. Ronnie Earl Spencer, of Dumfries, was arrested Wednesday, June 4, following an incident that occurred around 8:30 a.m. two days earlier, Prince William County Police said. Investigators said a 12-year-old girl was walking near the 17900 block of Milroy Drive on Monday, June 2, when she saw Spencer exposing himself. The girl quickly left the area and alerted a family member, who contacted police. No physical contact occurred, authorities noted. Spencer, whose…

by Zak Failla

06/05/2025

News

'Father Figure' Who Groomed Young Girl In Charles County Learns Prison Fate A Maryland man who groomed a young girl for years before sexually assaulting her is heading to prison, authorities announced. Thoraz Xavier Smallwood, 39, of Waldorf, has been sentenced to 15 years for sexually abusing a minor who he "became like a father figure to," according to the Charles County State's Attorney on Thursday, June 5. In June 2023, prosecutors say that a detective from the sheriff's office spoke with the young girl about the abuse, when she reported that she had been sexually assaulted multiple times by Smallwood. The investigation Smallwood was introduced to the vic…

by Zak Failla

06/05/2025

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