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Thursday, aug 21

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

Already Jailed Great Mills Man Now Accused Of Abusing, Killing 11-Year-Old Boy: Sheriff A Southern Maryland man already behind bars is now accused of abusing and killing an 11-year-old boy earlier this year, authorities said. Deputies and EMS crews were called to the 22000 block of Castle Pollard Way in Great Mills on May 8 for a report of an 11-year-old not breathing, according to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office. Life-saving measures were attempted before the child was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore later ruled the boy’s death a homicide. Detectives with the Criminal Investigations Divisi…

by Zak Failla

08/13/2025

Police & Fire

Child Safe After Attempted Kidnapping At Maryland 4H Fair; Bystanders, Family Step In: Sheriff A woman is behind bars after deputies say she tried to kidnap a child at a Maryland 4H Fair before bystanders and family members jumped in to stop her. Deputies were called to the fairgrounds in Centreville around 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 11, for a report of an attempted kidnapping, according to the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff’s officials said the fair’s emergency response plan was activated immediately, and deputies flooded the area. Witnesses — including the child’s family, other attendees, and 4H Fair staff — stopped the woman from leaving before deputies arrived, authoriti…

by Zak Failla

08/12/2025

Police & Fire

Toddler Plunges From Sixth-Floor Balcony In College Park, Flown To Trauma Center (Developing) A toddler was rushed to a trauma center after falling from a sixth-floor balcony in Prince George’s County, authorities said. Firefighters and medics responded around 1:52 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12, to the 9300 block of Cherry Hill Road in College Park for a reported fall at a multi-family building, according to the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department. Crews found a 3-year-old child with life-threatening injuries. The patient was medevacked by US Park Police Eagle One to a trauma center, officials said. Medical emergency, 1:52pm, 9300 block. Cherry Hill Rd in College Park. PGFD units…

by Zak Failla

08/12/2025

Police & Fire

Already Locked Up, Alexandria Man Charged In Hybla Valley Rock-Smash Burglary Spree: Police An Alexandria man sitting in jail on unrelated charges is now accused of smashing his way into multiple Hybla Valley businesses with a rock, police said. Detectives say 23-year-old Eliasar Flores Flores was linked to a string of April break-ins where storefront doors were shattered with a rock before cash was stolen. One of those happened on April 17 around 2:15 a.m., when officers were called to La Taza Panaderia in the 7800 block of Richmond Highway for a burglary report, according to Fairfax County police. The suspect allegedly smashed the door, grabbed money, and ran. Similar inci…

by Zak Failla

08/12/2025

Police & Fire

Woman Rescued From Burning Home In Virginia As Flames Shoot From Roof (Photos) A Virginia woman is recovering after firefighters pulled her from a second-story window as flames tore through her home early Tuesday morning, officials said. 🚨 House Fire - 3700 Block of 8th St S 🚨 At 5:41 AM, units were dispatched to a reported house fire on the 3700 block of... Posted by Arlington County Fire Department on Tuesday, August 12, 2025 Crews were called to the 3700 block of 8th Street South at 5:41 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 12, for a reported house fire, Arlington Fire & EMS confirmed. The scene of the fire in Arlington. Arlington Fire Department When firefig…

by Zak Failla

08/12/2025

Police & Fire

Virginia Man Crashes Into RV At Maryland International Raceway, Police Say He Had Loaded Gun A Virginia man’s night at Maryland International Raceway ended in handcuffs after police say he crashed into a parked RV, failed sobriety tests, and was caught with a loaded handgun he wasn’t allowed to have. Troopers responded to the track, in the 27000 block of Budds Creek Road in Mechanicsville, on Friday, Aug. 2, for the report of a vehicle striking a parked RV, Maryland State Police said. The driver, identified as Jamere Andre Alexander, 37, of Fairfax, was found with a handgun in plain view on the driver’s side floorboard, according to police. Investigators determined the firea…

by Zak Failla

08/12/2025

Schools

George Washington University ‘Deliberately Indifferent’ To Antisemitic Abuse On Campus: DOJ Jewish students at George Washington University were harassed, threatened, and told to leave campus for their own safety — and the US Department of Justice says the school let it happen. In a scathing letter released on Tuesday, Aug. 12, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division accused GWU of violating federal civil rights law by being “deliberately indifferent” to antisemitic harassment and abuse targeting Jewish, American-Israeli, and Israeli students and faculty. The agency said the misconduct was “shocking,” “abhorrent,” and illegal, and that university officials took “no meaningful action…

by Zak Failla

08/12/2025

Obituaries

‘Shining Light’: Maryland Teen, 19, Dies After Heart Attack, Sister Shares Painful Goodbye A Maryland family is mourning the sudden loss of 19-year-old Diamond Catalan, who died after suffering a heart attack, and they are now asking for help to give her the farewell she deserves. Catalan was more than a daughter, sister, and friend—she was a twin, “a shining light, and a source of love and laughter to everyone who knew her,” her family said. Her spirit was described as vibrant, her heart pure, and her presence a blessing. The teen’s obituary notes her life was “a gift we were lucky to have,” while her loved ones try to grapple with the unimaginable grief of losing her so …

by Zak Failla

08/12/2025

Police & Fire

Woodbridge Burglar Leaps From Balcony After Breaking Into Two Apartments: Police A 31-year-old Virginia man tried to make a wild getaway by jumping from a second-story balcony after breaking into two apartments before dawn, police said. It happened around 2:34 a.m. Monday, Aug. 11, at the Woodbridge Station Apartments on Oriskany Way, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Investigators said Jose Eli Orellana Dubon, of Woodbridge, “forcibly entered an apartment in the complex before being confronted by the residents.” Police said Dubon then went to an upper floor and attempted to enter a second residence before being met by another resident. That’s w…

by Zak Failla

08/12/2025

Obituaries

Maryland Man Killed Protecting Stranger During DC Shooting: ‘He Died A Hero’ A Maryland man who came to the country and was seeking the American Dream died a hero, according to his loved ones. Riverdale resident Akim Toure, 27, an IT professional who died during a "senseless" shooting in Washington, DC, is being remembered as a "cherished son, brother, cousin, and friend," who was gunned down late on Sunday, Aug. 3. Shortly after 11 p.m. on the fatal night, in the 400 block of New Jersey Avenue NW, police say that Toure was found unconscious and not breathing by DC Fire and EMS personnel after being shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene by first responder…

by Zak Failla

08/12/2025

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