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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
PA Man Learns Fate After 1988 Child Sex Abuse In MD: ‘There Is No Expiration Date On Justice' PA Man Learns Fate After 1988 Child Sex Abuse In MD: ‘There Is No Expiration Date On Justice'
PA Man Learns Fate After 1988 Child Sex Abuse In MD: ‘There Is No Expiration Date On Justice' More than three decades after sexually abusing a young child in Maryland, a Pennsylvania man finally got what was coming to him, authorities announced. Terrance Pinkett, a 54-year-old from Lansdale, was sentenced in Wicomico County to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to child sexual abuse and second-degree sexual offense. Prosecutors said Pinkett abused a child under his care in 1988, when the victim was younger than 9.  The survivor came forward years later, triggering a full investigation by the Wicomico County Child Advocacy Center that led to the conviction. Pinkett enter…

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by Zak Failla
News
ICE Detains Boyfriend Of Missing Maryland Mom Amid Suspicious Disappearance: Sheriff ICE Detains Boyfriend Of Missing Maryland Mom Amid Suspicious Disappearance: Sheriff
ICE Detains Boyfriend Of Missing Maryland Mom Amid Suspicious Disappearance: Sheriff A Maryland woman vanished under suspicious circumstances — and now the man who reported her missing is in ICE custody for allegedly being in the country illegally with forged federal documents. Lesbia Mileth Ramirez Guerra, 23, of Waldorf, was last seen on Monday, March 31, inside her Adams Court home, where she lived with her boyfriend — the father of her two children — and several others, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office said Monday, April 7. He reported her missing two days later. But as detectives started digging, they discovered “unusual and suspicious activity” at the home the ver…

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by Zak Failla
News
Hyattsville Dealer Who Sold Fentanyl-Laced ‘Perc’ To Teen Gets Prison Time In Overdose Death Hyattsville Dealer Who Sold Fentanyl-Laced ‘Perc’ To Teen Gets Prison Time In Overdose Death
Hyattsville Dealer Who Sold Fentanyl-Laced ‘Perc’ To Teen Gets Prison Time In Overdose Death A Maryland man will serve prison time for selling the pill that led to a teen’s death, authorities announced. Cesar Alexander Lopez, 26, of Hyattsville, was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday, April 7, in Montgomery County Circuit Court, where he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for the death of 17-year-old Aiden Vining, according to State’s Attorney John McCarthy. Lopez received a 10-year sentence with all but five years suspended. He will also be on supervised probation for five years after his release. Prosecutors say Vining was found unresponsive in his Montgomery Co…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
Johns Hopkins Students Lose Visas Amid Federal Immigration Push: Reports Johns Hopkins Students Lose Visas Amid Federal Immigration Push: Reports
Johns Hopkins Students Lose Visas Amid Federal Immigration Push: Reports About a dozen international students at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore had their visas revoked, according to officials. Several students and recent graduates who had F-1 visas through the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System had their information pulled amid the Trump administration's ongoing push to deport immigrants. The F-1 visa allows students to enter the United States as a full-time student at an accredited college, university, seminary, conservatory, academic high school, elementary school, or other academic institution or in a language training program. Accor…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Naked Gun: Woodbridge Man Strips, Chases Roommate With Weapon In Bizarre Confrontation: Police Naked Gun: Woodbridge Man Strips, Chases Roommate With Weapon In Bizarre Confrontation: Police
Naked Gun: Woodbridge Man Strips, Chases Roommate With Weapon In Bizarre Confrontation: Police A Prince William County man is behind bars after a bizarre and alarming outburst in Woodbridge that ended with him naked and under arrest, police said. Anthony Cortez Sims, 56, allegedly brandished a firearm during an argument with another occupant of a home at around 8:45 p.m. on Sunday, April 6 in the 15300 block of Colorado Avenue in Woodbridge, according to the Prince William County Police Department. During the dispute, Sims allegedly pulled out the weapon, then removed his clothes and chased the other person outside, authorities said. Officers arrived to find Sims completely naked in…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Virginia Man Asked Deputies For Drug Gear, Tried To Flee Near Hospital, Sheriff Says Virginia Man Asked Deputies For Drug Gear, Tried To Flee Near Hospital, Sheriff Says
Virginia Man Asked Deputies For Drug Gear, Tried To Flee Near Hospital, Sheriff Says Brandon Blackburn had a plan. It was not a good plan. The 38-year-old Stafford man bolted from a hospital Monday morning, April 7, and allegedly set off on a mission to get high — even asking the deputies who found him for help buying drug paraphernalia, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office. It didn’t go great. Deputies were called to the area of Richmond Highway and Hospital Center Boulevard around 9:51 a.m. after hospital staff said an intoxicated man had just “eloped” from the facility. They spotted Blackburn near Richmond Highway and Courthouse Road and immediately notice…

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by Zak Failla
News
Fentanyl Dealer Hid From Police With Half Kilo In Lexington Park Home, Prosecutors Say Fentanyl Dealer Hid From Police With Half Kilo In Lexington Park Home, Prosecutors Say
Fentanyl Dealer Hid From Police With Half Kilo In Lexington Park Home, Prosecutors Say A convicted fentanyl dealer in Lexington Park who tried to outwait police in a back bedroom will now have plenty of time to think about it — behind bars. Daisaun Altay Eric Culpepper, 31, has been sentenced to 27 years in prison, with 15.5 years of active incarceration, for possession of a large amount of fentanyl, destruction of evidence, and a probation violation, St. Mary's County State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling announced this week. On Oct. 16, 2024, detectives with the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at a home in Lexington Park during an ongoing drug trafficki…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Man Exposed Himself, Made Lewd Gestures Inside PWC Walmart: Police Man Exposed Himself, Made Lewd Gestures Inside PWC Walmart: Police
Man Exposed Himself, Made Lewd Gestures Inside PWC Walmart: Police Shoppers at a Virginia Walmart got an unwanted surprise when a Manassas man allegedly walked through the store exposing himself and making lewd gestures, police said. Prince William County police responded to the Walmart in the 9400 block of Liberia Avenue in Manassas around 4:33 p.m. on Monday, April 7, after receiving a report of indecent exposure, the department said. According to investigators, store security was alerted to the disturbing behavior and quickly contacted police. Officers arrived and detained the suspect without incident. The accused, identified as 23-year-old Manassas re…

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by Zak Failla
Traffic
Driver Dies After Jeep Strikes Dump Truck, Then Gets Hit On I-95 In Arbutus: State Police Driver Dies After Jeep Strikes Dump Truck, Then Gets Hit On I-95 In Arbutus: State Police
Driver Dies After Jeep Strikes Dump Truck, Then Gets Hit On I-95 In Arbutus: State Police An overnight crash on I-95 in Baltimore County left one man dead and three others hospitalized, Maryland State Police said. The crash was reported at around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 8, in the southbound lanes of the interstate near I-695 in Arbutus, investigators said. According to a preliminary report, a Jeep Cherokee rear-ended a dump truck in traffic. After the impact, the Jeep came to rest in a travel lane.  Police believe the Jeep’s driver got out — and was then hit by a Subaru that also struck the dump truck. The Jeep’s driver was pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not …

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by Zak Failla
Schools
Parents Charged After Gun Fires In Virginia Third Grader’s Backpack, Sheriff Says Parents Charged After Gun Fires In Virginia Third Grader’s Backpack, Sheriff Says
Parents Charged After Gun Fires In Virginia Third Grader’s Backpack, Sheriff Says A Virginia third grader brought a loaded handgun to school — and it went off inside his backpack, the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office said.  Now, his parents are the ones facing charges. The gun went off inside a classroom at Lee Hill Elementary School around 10:50 a.m. on Monday, April 7, according to investigators.  There were no injuries, and the student did not appear to have intended to harm anyone, officials said. Deputies say the 8-year-old had found the unsecured firearm at home, stuffed it into his backpack, and accidentally pulled the trigger while reaching into t…

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by Zak Failla
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