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Friday, may 16

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

Government Contractor In Virginia To Pay $1.1M For Kickback Scheme On Wounded Warriors Program Virginia-based Management Consulting, Inc. (Mancon) has been ordered to pay a million-dollar penalty for a kickback scheme involving the Wounded Warrior Program. Federal officials announced that the Virginia Beach business is being held strictly liable under the Anti-Kickback Act and ordered it to pay a $1,088,803 civil penalty for a years-long scheme. Between 2008 and 2015, prosecutors say that Mancon served as a prime contractor for the United States’ Wounded Warrior Program, and from 2012 to 2015, the subcontractor that Mancon selected to work on its prime contracts accepted $1,088,803 i…

by Zak Failla

11/01/2022

News

Four Convicted Of Abducting Maryland Man, Soliciting Ransom Payment, Dumping Dead Body In DC Four men from the region have been found complicit in abducting a Maryland man who was held for ransom and later found dead in Southeast Washington, DC, federal officials announced. A federal jury announced on Tuesday, Nov. 1 that four men from the DMV area were convicted of murder and other charges in the kidnapping of a man whose body was found in the summer of 2018. Those charged: Darin Moore, Jr., 29, of Bowie, Maryland; Gabrial Brown, 33, of Washington, DC; John Sweeney, 29, of Washington DC. Each was found guilty at trial of: Conspiracy to commit kidnapping; Kidnapping resulting…

by Zak Failla

11/01/2022

News

Predator Sentenced For Using Social Media To Trade Explicit Images For Vapes With VA Teens Authorities announced that a North Carolina man has been sentenced to time in federal prison after admitting to using social media platforms and traveling over state lines to exploit teenage boys in Virginia. Jonathan Avery Shumate, 54, of Warrensville, N.C. has been sentenced to 151 months in federal prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to one count of coercion and enticement of minors. Prosecutors say that Shumate used both Snapchat and Grindr to contact teenage boys attending Oak Hill Academy in Grayson County, and offered to provide vapes and vaping materials in exchange for t…

by Zak Failla

11/01/2022

Police & Fire

Suspect Shoots Man While Attempting To Invade Virginia Home, Police Say One person was hospitalized in Virginia after being shot while struggling over a firearm during an armed home invasion in Prince William County on Monday afternoon. Shortly before 1:45 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 31, officers from the Prince William County Police Department responded to a home in the 13400 block of Orangewood Drive in Woodbridge to investigate a reported shooting. Upon arrival at the residence, officers say they found a 51-year-old man - whose name has not been released - suffering from a gunshot wound to his lower body and were able to provide immediate first aid until…

by Zak Failla

11/01/2022

Schools

Teen Student At Maryland Middle School Busted With Marijuana, Bullet, Sheriff Says It was neither a trick nor a treat for a middle school student in Maryland who was busted with marijuana and a bullet during classes on Halloween, officials announced. Shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 31, an administrator at the Benjamin Stoddert Middle School in Charles County was notified that a student smelled like marijuana, according to the sheriff’s office. The administrator was able to make contact with the student, according to a spokesperson from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, and it was determined he was in possession of colorfully-decorated bags of marijuana, a light…

by Zak Failla

11/01/2022

Police & Fire

Teen Gunned Down On Halloween Night In Southwest DC, Police Say Police have more questions than answers in Washington, DC as officers investigate the murder of a teenager on Halloween night. Members of the Metropolitan Police Department responded at approximately 8:40 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 31 to the 2600 block of Birney Place, where there were reports of gunshots that rang out. Shooting Investigation in the 2600 Block of Birney Place, SE. No Lookout. — DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) November 1, 2022 DC Police Chief Robert Contee III said that upon arrival, officers found a 14-year-old with multiple gunshot wounds. Aid was rendered, and CPR was…

by Zak Failla

11/01/2022

News

'Freaky' NFL Street Gang Hitman In Maryland Gets Prison Time For Murders, Racketeering Authorities announced that a member and hitman for the Maryland “NFL" street gang will spend decades behind bars for a racketeering conspiracy that included multiple murders. Bobby “Freaky” Cannon, 24, of Baltimore, was sentenced to 29 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for participating in a violent racketeering conspiracy, including committing two murders, according to the Department of Justice. Federal prosecutors said that the gang operated in the Edmondson Village area in Southwest Baltimore, specifically, Normandy, Franklin, and Loudon (NFL) street…

by Zak Failla

11/01/2022

Police & Fire

Inappropriate Touching Incident Reported Near University Of Maryland College Park Campus Police in Prince George’s County are seeking the public's assistance in identifying and locating a wanted man who allegedly inappropriately touched a woman near the University of Maryland Campus. A woman reported to the Prince George’s County Police Department that she was in the area of Baltimore Avenue and Knox Road, when a man she didn’t know, approached her and attempted to engage in conversation with her, officials said. Related story - Alert Issued For Flasher Wanted For Exposing Himself To Students On University Of Maryland Bus After she told the man to leave her alone, he bega…

by Zak Failla

11/01/2022

Police & Fire

Off-Duty Federal Officer Arrested Following Drug Investigation In Arlington: Police An off-duty federal officer is facing charges following a narcotics investigation in Virginia, authorities announced. Alexandria resident Eric Welch, 33, an off-duty Pentagon Force Protection Agency police officer has been taken into custody by investigators from the Arlington County Police Department for his role in distributing cocaine, officials said on Monday, Oct. 31. Specifically, Welch was charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance while armed. According to officials, Organized Crime Sectio…

by Zak Failla

10/31/2022

Police & Fire

Child Inside Stolen Vehicle In DC Located Safely, Police Say Police in Washington, DC were able to quickly track down a child who was inside a vehicle that got stolen on Monday night, officials said. An alert was issued by the Metropolitan Police Department shortly before 7:50 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 31 regarding a stolen 2014 green Kia Seoul with a Virginia license plate that was stolen from the 1700 block of Columbia Road in Northwest DC. At the time the Kia was stolen, there was a 5-year-old child inside the vehicle, according to police. The potentially scary situation unfolded quickly, and at approximately 8 p.m. on Monday night, officials announc…

by Zak Failla

10/31/2022

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