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Tuesday, may 6

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

Officer Seriously Hurt When Drunk Driver Slams Cruiser In Fort Washington, Police Say A Prince George’s County Police officer is recovering in the hospital after being struck by a suspected drunk driver while responding to a separate crash on Indian Head Highway, officials said. It happened early Friday morning, April 18, in the Fort Washington area, where a Division VII patrol officer was on scene to assist with a road closure. Police say the officer had just stepped out of his cruiser and was placing flares when a southbound driver on Route 210 slammed into the cruiser, which then struck the officer and launched him into a nearby guardrail. The officer was rushed to the h…

by Zak Failla

04/18/2025

Police & Fire

Lexington Park Teens Charged As Adults After Man Shot In Face, Sheriff Says Two Maryland teens are facing attempted murder charges as adults after allegedly shooting a man in the face during a violent overnight encounter in Lexington Park, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office announced. Deputies responded to the 46000 block of Marshall Boulevard around 1 a.m. March 5, for reports of shots fired in the area, where they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound to the face. The victim survived, but the shooting kicked off a major investigation that came to its conclusion this week. On Thursday, April 17, detectives with the Criminal Investigations Division arrest…

by Zak Failla

04/18/2025

Police & Fire

Convicted Sex Offender In Maryland Transferred To ICE For Removal To Honduras: Officials A convicted sex offender in Maryland is now in the custody of federal immigration officials after serving part of a 10-year sentence, ICE announced. Kelvin Emanuel Granados-Sorto, 30, a Honduran national who entered the US illegally, was arrested by ICE on Thursday, April 11, after being transferred from the Maryland Department of Corrections, according to federal officials. Granados-Sorto was convicted in Prince George’s County on May 12, 2023, of a third-degree sex offense. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. ICE lodged a detainer on him two months later, in July 2023. Federal offici…

by Zak Failla

04/17/2025

Police & Fire

Pedestrian, 19, Killed By DWI Driver In Alexandria Hit-Run Crash: Police A 19-year-old was killed and a driver is in custody following a DWI crash that sent shockwaves through a busy Virginia neighborhood, police said. Abdullahi Mumin died after being hit by a driver along the 4700 block of King Street on Wednesday night, April 16, according to the Alexandria Police Department. Officers were called around 8:38 p.m. for a report of a crash involving a pedestrian and arrived to find Mumin critically injured alongside a downed electrical pole, authorities said. He was rushed to the hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries. The driver, identified a…

by Zak Failla

04/17/2025

Police & Fire

Vandals Break Into Virginia Zoo, Trash Exhibits, Terrify Animals With Joyride (Video) A pack of late-night vandals broke into a Northern Virginia zoo, damaged animal enclosures, and took work vehicles for a joyride — all while terrifying the animals, officials said. The chaos unfolded overnight on Tuesday, April 15, at the NOVA Wild Zoo, a popular family destination in Fairfax County. According to zoo management, several people forced their way into the park, caused damage to multiple exhibits, and even got into the capybara enclosure. The intruders then took work vehicles and rode recklessly through the property. Staff returned to find the aftermath — broken fencing, trash…

by Zak Failla

04/17/2025

News

Cop Who Flagged Deported Dad For Gang Ties Was Later Fired For Misconduct: Police A Maryland police officer who helped document a man later deported to El Salvador was fired for misconduct in an unrelated case, officials confirmed on Thursday. One of the detectives involved in a 2019 police stop that flagged Kilmar Abrego Garcia as showing signs of MS-13 gang affiliation was later terminated from the Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD) for misconduct in another matter, according to a new statement released by the agency. The department said on Thursday, April 17, that former officer Ivan Mendez helped conduct the stop and generate an internal gang intelligenc…

by Zak Failla

04/17/2025

News

Maryland Man Who Preyed On Young Girl For Years Learns Fate In Court: Prosecutors A Maryland man will spend decades behind bars for repeatedly sexually abusing a young child in his household, prosecutors announced. Enemias Bautista Perez, 38, of Greensboro, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in Wicomico County for sexually abusing a minor under the age of 9, the maximum penalty allowed under Maryland law for that charge, officials said Thursday. That sentence will run consecutively to a separate 25-year term in Caroline County for abusing the same victim, good for 50 years. Perez pleaded guilty in Wicomico County back in January. Investigators said most of the a…

by Zak Failla

04/17/2025

Police & Fire

Two Dead In Charles County House Fire Made Worse By Hoarding, Officials Say Deadly hoarding conditions inside a Maryland home made rescue efforts difficult after a fire broke out early Thursday, leaving two dead and one survivor, authorities said. The flames were already ripping through a Brunswick Road home in Faulkner when firefighters arrived shortly after 6:15 a.m. on April 17, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal. Crews from the Bel Alton Volunteer Fire Department and other nearby agencies were told that two people might still be inside the burning house, but extreme hoarding conditions made getting to them nearly impossible. It took 50 firefighters c…

by Zak Failla

04/17/2025

Politics

Senator Denied Prison Visit With Wrongfully Deported Man In El Salvador Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen's trip to El Salvador to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia in prison took an unexpected turn on Thursday. Van Hollen was denied access to Abrego Garcia at the CECOT high-security facility—along with the family's lawyer—as they went to check on his well-being, the senator said on April 17. "We just tried to go visit him in prison, just to check on his condition, and if he is doing okay, because nobody has had any communication from him since he was illegally abducted from Maryland and sent to prison in El Salvador," Van Hollen said miles away from the prison. Van Hol…

by Zak Failla

04/17/2025

Schools

Teen Threatened School Principal, Religious Groups In Voicemail: Montgomery County Police A Montgomery County student is facing hate crime charges after allegedly leaving a threatening voicemail targeting a local school principal and multiple groups, police say. Detectives with the Behavioral Assessment and Administrative Unit (BAAU) say the threat was made on Tuesday, March 18, prompting a swift response from Montgomery County Community Engagement officers. Investigators said a voicemail was left at a Montgomery County Public School (MCPS), where the suspect used threatening language aimed at the principal, as well as “various demographic and religious groups.” The 17-year-old…

by Zak Failla

04/17/2025

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