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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
Virginia Man Targeting Drug-Addled Women For Prostitution Ring In DMV Region Arrested: Police Virginia Man Targeting Drug-Addled Women For Prostitution Ring In DMV Region Arrested: Police
Virginia Man Targeting Drug-Addled Women For Prostitution Ring In DMV Region Arrested: Police A Virginia man who courted women suffering from drug addictions to help run an East Coast prostitution ring has been arrested, federal authorities announced. Brian Lamont Turner, 42, was arrested in his Charlottesville home on Wednesday following an hours-long standoff with police, who ultimately arrested him and accused him of posting hundreds of commercial sex ads for women in various cities.  Officials say that Turner violated the Mann Act, "a federal law that criminalizes the transportation of any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution." The women he allegedly exploited wer…

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by Zak Failla
News
Dogs Left Outside During Cold Spell Brought To Virginia For Shot At Adoption: PETA Dogs Left Outside During Cold Spell Brought To Virginia For Shot At Adoption: PETA
Dogs Left Outside During Cold Spell Brought To Virginia For Shot At Adoption: PETA Several dogs left outside in the region during the recent cold spell have been brought to Virginia to be treated and eventually put up for adoption, according to PETA.  When temperatures dropped in recent weeks, PETA fieldworkers have been out daily to come to the aid of dogs left chained or penned outside in the frigid temperatures, some of which saw their water bowls freeze over without any care from their owners. Since the recent streak of cold weather, PETA has been imploring residents to bring animals inside, resulting in the recovery of at least two dogs taken from North Carolina…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Man Who Preyed On Middle School-Aged Girls Using Social Media Gets Prison Time In DC: Feds Man Who Preyed On Middle School-Aged Girls Using Social Media Gets Prison Time In DC: Feds
Man Who Preyed On Middle School-Aged Girls Using Social Media Gets Prison Time In DC: Feds The 20-year-old District man who sexually abused four middle school-aged girls over an eight month period will have more than a decade behind bars to reconsider his actions. Social media doomed Luis Quevedo, of Northwest DC, who was sentenced by a judge to 12 years in prison for preying on young girls he met and terrorized over the Internet with bad intentions in mind. Prosecutors say that between August 2022 and April 2023, Quevedo "engaged in a pattern of behavior wherein he contacted middle school aged girls - strangers to him - via social media with the intention of luring the…

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by Zak Failla
Sports
NJ Devils Players' Leaves Of Absence Tied To 2018 Sex Assault Investigation? NJ Devils Players' Leaves Of Absence Tied To 2018 Sex Assault Investigation?
NJ Devils Players' Leaves Of Absence Tied To 2018 Sex Assault Investigation? Two New Jersey Devils players and one member of the Philadelphia Flyers  have been granted leaves of absence the same day that The Globe and Mail released a report saying police in Canada called for the surrender of five players from the 2018 Canadian World Junior team in connection with a sex assault investigation. Devils forward Michael McLeod, defenseman Cal Foote, and Flyers goalie Carter Hart — all members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team — have been granted a leave of absence.  The Devils said only that McLeod and Foote were requested and granted an indefinit…

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by Zak Failla & Cecilia Levine
News
Dealer Sentenced For Mass Fentanyl Overdose Event Near Nationals Park That Killed Two In DC Dealer Sentenced For Mass Fentanyl Overdose Event Near Nationals Park That Killed Two In DC
Dealer Sentenced For Mass Fentanyl Overdose Event Near Nationals Park That Killed Two In DC The man who triggered a mass overdose event near Nationals Park in DC has been sentenced to decades in prison, federal authorities announced. District resident Sheldon Marbley, 44, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on five felony counts for running a drug trafficking operation in Southwest DC that caused the death of two people and left two others with "serious bodily injuries."  As part of his plea, Marbley acknowledged that he caused at least 13 drug overdoses - two fatal - in January 2022 near the area of First and O Street SW, not far from Nationals Park. Prosecutors say that Ma…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
'Suspicious Death' Ruled Homicide After Body Found Inside Maryland Apartment: Police 'Suspicious Death' Ruled Homicide After Body Found Inside Maryland Apartment: Police
'Suspicious Death' Ruled Homicide After Body Found Inside Maryland Apartment: Police Police in Frederick County have ruled the death of a woman found inside an area home a homicide, authorities announced late on Wednesday afternoon. Earlier this week, officers were called to the 300 block of 9th Avenue in Brunswick, where they found local resident Tammy Coates inside and unresponsive inside her home. The grisly discover was reported at around 5:45 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 22.  Following the discovery, police said that "based on several factors located on scene, the death is being investigated as a suspicious death." On Jan. 24, the agency announced that following an auto…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Crisis Intervention Call Turns Deadly During Downtown DC Officer-Involved Shooting: Police Crisis Intervention Call Turns Deadly During Downtown DC Officer-Involved Shooting: Police
Crisis Intervention Call Turns Deadly During Downtown DC Officer-Involved Shooting: Police A crisis intervention call turned deadly for a man killed in an officer-involved shooting in Washington, DC on Wednesday morning. At around 6:45 a.m. on Jan. 24, members of the Metropolitan Police Department responded to the 2100 block of Benning Road NE to assist a man who was in crisis, according to Chief Pamela Smith. MPD Chief Pamela Smith at the scene. Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department Responding officers - one of whom was a highly-trained crisis intervention specialist - encountered the man and conversed with him for upwards of two hours, she said, before he relented a…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
Gun, Ammo Recovered From Student's Backpack In Maryland School, Police Say Gun, Ammo Recovered From Student's Backpack In Maryland School, Police Say
Gun, Ammo Recovered From Student's Backpack In Maryland School, Police Say An 18-year-old is facing charges after being busted bringing a handgun and ammunition to an Anne Arundel County High School. Cameron Jayce Harris was taken into custody after administrators at the Crofton High School reported to police that they had recovered a weapon that was stashed in his backpack. The call came in at around 11:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 24. According to police, Harris was brought to the office as part of a probe into a possible incident on a school bus, and during a subsequent search of his backpack, the administrators found the weapon and five loose rounds of ammuniti…

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
Man Celebrates Million Dollar Virginia Lottery Win While On Caribbean Cruise To Kick Off 2024 Man Celebrates Million Dollar Virginia Lottery Win While On Caribbean Cruise To Kick Off 2024
Man Celebrates Million Dollar Virginia Lottery Win While On Caribbean Cruise To Kick Off 2024 What started as a relaxing Caribbean cruise to celebrate the New Year turned into something far more exciting for a Virginia man who won $1 million while on vacation. Jerome Testa III is laughing and smiling his way to the bank after being the final person to claim a seven-figure prize after purchasing a ticket for Virginia's New Year's Millionaire Raffle. The timing couldn't be better, as the lucky lotto player learned of his unexpected windfall while checking online during a holiday cruise, though they had to wait to return to Virginia before redeeming the life-altering ticket. “My wife …

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by Zak Failla
Schools
Charles Barrett Elementary School Evacuated Due To Threat Targeting Building (DEVELOPING) Charles Barrett Elementary School Evacuated Due To Threat Targeting Building (DEVELOPING)
Charles Barrett Elementary School Evacuated Due To Threat Targeting Building (Developing) A Virginia elementary school was evacuated on Wednesday afternoon after a threat was made against the building. An alert was issued by the Alexandria Police Department at round 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 24, after a threat targeting Charles Barrett Elementary School on Martha Custis Drive was reported. Officers were called to the building and there is expected to be a heavy police presence at and around the school throughout the day. All students and staff were being evacuated as a precaution.  The nature of the threat has not been disclosed by the police. ALERT: There is a h…

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by Zak Failla
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