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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
Off-Duty Arlington Firefighter Living In Maryland Saves Neighbors From Raging Blaze Off-Duty Arlington Firefighter Living In Maryland Saves Neighbors From Raging Blaze
Off-Duty Arlington Firefighter Living In Maryland Saves Neighbors From Raging Blaze Talk about being in the right place at the right time. An off-duty Virginia firefighter living next door is being credited with helping save lives when a fast-moving fire tore through a row of townhomes in Maryland early Friday, May 16, officials announced. Firefighters rushed to the 11900 block of Roan Lane in Gaithersburg around 5:30 a.m. after getting multiple 911 calls reporting a fire burning behind a three-story townhouse. Twitter/@DavidPazos15 One of those calls came from a neighbor who just happened to be an Arlington County firefighter, according to Montgomery County Fire a…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Virginia Drug Pipeline Busted: Fentanyl, Firearms, Cash Seized After Major Raid, Sheriff Says Virginia Drug Pipeline Busted: Fentanyl, Firearms, Cash Seized After Major Raid, Sheriff Says
Virginia Drug Pipeline Busted: Fentanyl, Firearms, Cash Seized After Major Raid, Sheriff Says A multi-agency operation shut down a major drug supply pipeline in Virginia after authorities raided a property packed with fentanyl, firearms, and cash, officials announced. Detectives arrested Kajuan Stinnie, 25, after a brief foot chase in Albemarle County on Thursday, May 15, the Culpeper County Sheriff's Office said. The arrest followed a monthlong investigation that began in Culpeper County and led detectives to the 200 block of Saponi Road in Albemarle, where they say the source of the local supply was located. According to the sheriff's office, during the search, investigators seiz…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
DUI Driver Hospitalized After Hitting Child On Scooter In Leesburg, Police Say DUI Driver Hospitalized After Hitting Child On Scooter In Leesburg, Police Say
DUI Driver Hospitalized After Hitting Child On Scooter In Leesburg, Police Say A Virginia man is accused of driving drunk and hitting a child on a scooter before being rushed to the hospital himself, police said. Victor Canchola, 63, was arrested after the crash, which happened around 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 15, near 22 Plaza Street NE in Leesburg, according to the Leesburg Police Department. An officer nearby saw the juvenile fall in the roadway and stopped to help. Witnesses told the officer the child had just been hit by a car, police said. The child, who suffered minor injuries, was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment, according to police. Ca…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Overnight Townhouse Fire In Gaithersburg Displaces 13 People, Pets, Officials Say Overnight Townhouse Fire In Gaithersburg Displaces 13 People, Pets, Officials Say
Overnight Townhouse Fire In Gaithersburg Displaces 13 People, Pets, Officials Say A fast-moving fire tore through a row of townhomes in Montgomery County early Friday, May 16, displacing 13 people and several pets in Gaithersburg, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue. Firefighters rushed to the 11900 block of Roan Lane just after 5:30 a.m. following multiple reports of a fire burning behind a three-story townhouse, officials said. Crews arrived to find flames spreading to two neighboring homes, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue PIO David Pazos said. Firefighters worked quickly to knock down the fire, and all occupants were able to escape safely. No injuries we…

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by Zak Failla
News
Feds: Oxygen Loss, Skipped Repairs Contributed to Virginia Jet Crash That Killed Four Feds: Oxygen Loss, Skipped Repairs Contributed to Virginia Jet Crash That Killed Four
Feds: Oxygen Loss, Skipped Repairs Contributed to Virginia Jet Crash That Killed Four A small jet carrying four people on a personal flight from Tennessee to New York flew on autopilot for nearly two hours after the pilot became unresponsive—before crashing into a Virginia mountainside at full speed, killing everyone on board, federal investigators confirmed. The Cessna Citation 560 took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Tennessee around 1:13 p.m. on Sunday, June 4, 2023, according to a final report released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) this week. On board was 69-year-old pilot John K. Rumpel, a Florida businessman and licensed airline transpor…

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by Zak Failla
News
Convicted MS-13 Gang Member Slipped Through Cracks Four Times Before Arrest In Maryland: ICE Convicted MS-13 Gang Member Slipped Through Cracks Four Times Before Arrest In Maryland: ICE
Convicted MS-13 Gang Member Slipped Through Cracks Four Times Before Arrest In Maryland: ICE A convicted MS-13 gang member who kept slipping through the cracks in Maryland is finally in ICE custody—again. Nelson Vladimir Amaya-Benitez, a 26-year-old Salvadoran national who had already been deported once, was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Gaithersburg, the agency announced. Amaya-Benitez, a “validated MS-13 gang member,” has a long criminal record that includes convictions for armed robbery, vehicle theft, drug possession, and more, ICE officials said. He had already been removed from the US in 2019 but illegally reentered the country at an unkn…

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by Zak Failla
News
Audit Finds Dozens Of Maryland In-Custody Deaths Wrongly Ruled Non-Homicides: AG Audit Finds Dozens Of Maryland In-Custody Deaths Wrongly Ruled Non-Homicides: AG
Audit Finds Dozens Of Maryland In-Custody Deaths Wrongly Ruled Non-Homicides: AG The results of an independent audit into Maryland’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) reveal that dozens of deaths in state custody may have been wrongly classified for years, according to Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown. The 70-page report, released Thursday, May 15, details the findings of a multi-year investigation launched in 2021 following concerns raised after Maryland’s former Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. David Fowler, testified in the murder trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin. According to the Office of the Attorney General, more than half of t…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Escapee Caught After Cutting Off Ankle Monitor, Barricading In Lexington Park Home: Sheriff Escapee Caught After Cutting Off Ankle Monitor, Barricading In Lexington Park Home: Sheriff
Escapee Caught After Cutting Off Ankle Monitor, Barricading In Lexington Park Home: Sheriff A wanted Maryland man who slipped off his ankle monitor and went on the run is back behind bars after a tense barricade situation in Lexington Park, authorities announced. Jeffrey Keith Reid, 57, was arrested Thursday, May 15, after deputies with the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office surrounded a home on Spring Lake Drive, officials said. The drama began around 10 a.m. when a witness reported a suspicious vehicle parked at a home where no one was believed to live, according to police. Deputies quickly connected the house to Reid, who was wanted on an active arrest warrant for second-degre…

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
Boy, 5, Awake, Begins Tough Recovery After Devastating Lawn Mower Accident In Maryland Boy, 5, Awake, Begins Tough Recovery After Devastating Lawn Mower Accident In Maryland
Boy, 5, Awake, Begins Tough Recovery After Devastating Lawn Mower Accident In Maryland He’s awake. He’s fighting. He’s still here. Five-year-old Gibson Rivera Theimer, the Maryland boy critically injured in a devastating lawn mower accident, is facing a long road to recovery — but his family says he’s showing incredible strength as he begins the battle of his life. On Saturday, May 10, Theimer suffered life-altering trauma after a lawn mower accident at home.  Gibson Rivera Theimer GoFundMe He was flown by helicopter to a trauma center, where doctors were able to save his life. Early reports mentioned only the loss of his right foot, but his loved ones have …

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by Zak Failla
News
Barking Dog Leads Cops To 4-Year-Old Lost In Virginia Woods Barking Dog Leads Cops To 4-Year-Old Lost In Virginia Woods
Barking Dog Leads Cops To 4-Year-Old Lost In Virginia Woods A Virginia man and his dog are being hailed as heroes after helping deputies find a missing 4-year-old boy who wandered deep into the woods while his father was loading the car, officials announced. The tense situation unfolded on Thursday, May 16, in a rural part of Fauquier County, when a panicked father called 911 to report that his young son had disappeared into the trees. Deputies rushed to the area and immediately set up a perimeter, called in K9s, and requested helicopter support as they began the desperate search. But help came from an unexpected place. Local resident Steve Elmore…

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by Zak Failla
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