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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

Police & Fire
Swim Instructor Accused Of Sexually Abusing Teen Multiple Times In Virginia: Police Swim Instructor Accused Of Sexually Abusing Teen Multiple Times In Virginia: Police
Swim Instructor Accused Of Sexually Abusing Teen Multiple Times In Virginia: Police The investigation into a swim instructor who allegedly sexually abused a teen on multiple occasions in 2022 has been arrested in Prince William County, according to authorities. Woodbridge resident Daniel Smith, 72, who was a former instructor at the Chinn Park Recreation Center, was arrested this week and charged with two counts of aggravated sexual battery following a probe into claims of abuse by a then-13-year-old. According to the Prince William County Police Department, in June, the investigation was launched when a teen came forward to report multiple incidents of sexual battery that…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
'Deeply Disappointing': Sheriff's Deputy Indicted Following Forgery Investigation In Maryland 'Deeply Disappointing': Sheriff's Deputy Indicted Following Forgery Investigation In Maryland
'Deeply Disappointing': Sheriff's Deputy Indicted Following Forgery Investigation In Maryland A member of the Harford County Sheriff's Office has been suspended after being indicted by a grand jury for a forged check scheme, authorities announced on Wednesday. Senior Deputy Shawn Forton, 40, who was assigned to the Harford County Detention Center, is facing charges following complaints from a member of the community about forgery, prompting an investigation into the officer. Google Maps street view Investigators say that detectives spoke with a woman, who knew Forton away from his work with the department, who alleged that the deputy forged a check in her name for an undisclo…

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by Zak Failla
News
Infant Reported 'Critically Missing,' Last Seen With 27-Year-Old Man In Northwest DC Infant Reported 'Critically Missing,' Last Seen With 27-Year-Old Man In Northwest DC
Infant Reported 'Critically Missing,' Last Seen With 27-Year-Old Man In Northwest DC Alarm bells are sounding for members of the Metropolitan Police Department as they search for an infant who was reported missing in Northwest DC on Wednesday. An alert was issued by the agency as they seek the public's assistance in locating 5-month-old Rajah Leonard, who was last seen around noon in the 6000 block of 16th Street NW and is believed to be accompanied by 27-year-old Ramon Leonard. The child was described as being around 26-inches tall, weighing 16 pounds with brown eyes and black hair, last seen in white onesie pajamas with dinosaurs. The man was last seen wearing a white tan…

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by Zak Failla
News
Sick Raccoon In Anne Arundel County Tests Positive For Rabies: Health Department Sick Raccoon In Anne Arundel County Tests Positive For Rabies: Health Department
Sick Raccoon In Anne Arundel County Tests Positive For Rabies: Health Department The Anne Arundel County Department of Health is cautioning that a raccoon found in Davidsonville earlier this week has tested positive for rabies. An alert was issued on Wednesday advising that the animal was found on Governor's Bridge Road, between Riva Road and St. George Barber Road on Monday, July 15. It has since tested positive for rabies, officials confirmed on Wednesday. According to health officials, "rabies is a viral disease that mainly infects mammals and is spread through the saliva of the infected animal, usually by a bite." Symptoms of rabies in animals may include fear of …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Man Who Sodomized Boy Eight Years Ago In Virginia Captured In El Salvador: Police Man Who Sodomized Boy Eight Years Ago In Virginia Captured In El Salvador: Police
Man Who Sodomized Boy Eight Years Ago In Virginia Captured In El Salvador: Police A Virginia man who fled the country after allegedly sexually assaulting an 8-year-old boy over the course of nearly two years has been extradited back to the country to face charges, police say. Nelson Romero-Quijada, 54, made it nearly six years before being apprehended in El Salvador and extradited to Prince William County in connection to an August 2018 sexual assault investigation.  Detectives began to investigate a sexual assault in 2018 when the boy came forward to report that he had been abused in the 7900 block of Community Drive in Manassas between October 2014 and July 2016 b…

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by Zak Failla
News
Winning $560K 'Multi-Match' Jackpot-Winning Ticket Sold At Maryland Sheetz Winning $560K 'Multi-Match' Jackpot-Winning Ticket Sold At Maryland Sheetz
Winning $560K 'Multi-Match' Jackpot-Winning Ticket Sold At Maryland Sheetz Monday was a good day for some lucky Maryland Lottery players who won big playing separate games in different parts of the state. The big winner came in Cumberland, where a player his a $560,000 Multi-Match jackpot on a ticket sold at Sheetz on Bedford Road, while a $50,000 Powerball ticket was sold at the Pilot Travel Center in Hagerstown.  Neither prize has been claimed. The Mutli-Match ticket matched all six winning numbers - 03-14-29-30-32-35 - and the winner will have the option of an estimated annuity of $560,000 paid in 25 annual installments, or a roughly $310,000 ca…

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by Zak Failla
News
Founder Of LGBTQ+ Non-Profit In DC Pleads Guilty To Fraud After 'Unexpected Return' To US: Feds Founder Of LGBTQ+ Non-Profit In DC Pleads Guilty To Fraud After 'Unexpected Return' To US: Feds
Founder Of LGBTQ+ Non-Profit In DC Pleads Guilty To Fraud After 'Unexpected Return' To US: Feds The trailblazing founder of Casa Ruby, a DC-based non-profit that had provided services to the LGBTQ+ community admitted to stealing at least $150,000 in COVID relief funds and stashing it in Central America for her personal use, authorities announced Ruby Corado, 53, pleaded guilty on Wednesday in US District Court to diverting the taxpayer-backed emergency funds to private off-shore bank accounts, which then was used for her own gain. She was charged in March with bank fraud, wire fraud, laundering of monetary instruments, monetary transactions in criminally derived proceeds, and fai…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Teen Charged As Adult For Shooting Into Maryland Home, Injuring Two, Sheriff Says Teen Charged As Adult For Shooting Into Maryland Home, Injuring Two, Sheriff Says
Teen Charged As Adult For Shooting Into Maryland Home, Injuring Two, Sheriff Says The 17-year-old who fired several shots into a Calvert County home, sending two to the hospital, has been apprehended and will be charged as an adult, according to the sheriff's office. Huntingtown native Andre Xavier Howe has been arrested in connection to a recent shooting in Prince Frederick that left a woman with critical injuries and left another man injured. Deputies were called shortly after 9:40 p.m. on Sunday, July 14 to the 1600 block of Mint Court in Prince Frederick, where there were reports of shots fired in the area. Upon arrival, members of the Calvert County Sheriff's offic…

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
Motorcyclist Killed In Maryland Crash Leaves Behind Two Children, Reeling Family Motorcyclist Killed In Maryland Crash Leaves Behind Two Children, Reeling Family
Motorcyclist Killed In Maryland Crash Leaves Behind Two Children, Reeling Family Friends and family are still shell-shocked days after a doting dad of two young children was killed in a motorcycle crash in Calvert County. Paul O'Neal, 36, was killed on July 14 after crashing into the back of a Dodge 3500 pick-up on Maryland Route 4 in Lusby near the intersection of Nursery Road.  O'Neal was treated at the scene by first responders, but was pronounced dead at the scene, now the community is rallying around his struggling loved ones. "I can’t believe I even have to write these words," one family member said. "Please keep my cousin and her babies in your prayers.  "We’ve…

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by Zak Failla
Weather
Heat Index Values Around 108 Degrees Possible In DMV; Storms Likely Heat Index Values Around 108 Degrees Possible In DMV; Storms Likely
Heat Index Values Around 108 Degrees Possible In DMV; Storms Likely Incoming storms may finally help residents in the DMV beat the heat - at least for now - during what has been a scorching summer with record temperatures.  Forecasters are warning that severe weather is possible on Wednesday, July 17, and yet another Heat Advisory has been issued by the National Weather Service as heat index values could reach as high as 108 degrees. National Weather Service "Dangerous heat and humidity will continue today along with the threat for showers and thunderstorms," they said. "Some storms may be severe, especially along and east of the Blue Ridge.  "…

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