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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
Maryland Driver Dies After Slamming Into Stopped Semi On Route 301: State Police Maryland Driver Dies After Slamming Into Stopped Semi On Route 301: State Police
Maryland Driver Dies After Slamming Into Stopped Semi On Route 301: State Police A 26-year-old Maryland driver died after slamming into the back of a stopped tractor-trailer on Route 301, authorities said. Troopers with the Maryland State Police La Plata Barrack responded to the crash at 2:43 p.m. on Tuesday, July 15, near Route 257 in Newburg, officials said on Wednesday. Andrew Ring, of Chester, was driving a Subaru Legacy north on Route 301 when he failed to slow for stopped traffic and crashed into a Freightliner truck tractor towing a semi-trailer, according to investigators. The truck, operated by Otis Coates, 55, of College Park, was reportedly stopped at a traf…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Maryland Teen Already In Jail Now Charged With Murder In Deadly Backyard Shooting: Police Maryland Teen Already In Jail Now Charged With Murder In Deadly Backyard Shooting: Police
Maryland Teen Already In Jail Now Charged With Murder In Deadly Backyard Shooting: Police An 18-year-old from Maryland is behind bars after police say he gunned down man in an area backyard. Jonathan Leross Jobe, of Salisbury, was arrested and charged with multiple counts of murder for his alleged role in the fatal shooting of Dajaud Rae’heim Townsend, Maryland State Police announced on Wednesday, July 16. The shooting was reported around 5:35 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, in the 600 block of Smith Street, where Salisbury Police responded after getting multiple 911 calls about shots fired, according to the state police. **Update 07/15/25 7:00 PM** A homicide investigation is…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Maryland Officer Who Used Pepper Spray On Handcuffed Man During DC Stop Gets Prison Time Maryland Officer Who Used Pepper Spray On Handcuffed Man During DC Stop Gets Prison Time
Maryland Officer Who Used Pepper Spray On Handcuffed Man During DC Stop Gets Prison Time A former Maryland police officer will spend more than six years behind bars for using excessive force during a traffic stop in Washington, DC. Philip Dupree, who was working as an officer with the Fairmount Heights Police Department at the time, was sentenced on Wednesday, July 16, to six years and two months in federal prison, the Department of Justice announced. The sentence follows Dupree’s conviction in June 2024, after a weeklong jury trial in which prosecutors said he crossed the line during a stop on Aug. 4, 2019. According to trial evidence, prosecutors say Dupree pulled over a dri…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Edgewood Woman Facing Eviction Who Set Fire That Killed 4 Learns Prison Fate Edgewood Woman Facing Eviction Who Set Fire That Killed 4 Learns Prison Fate
Edgewood Woman Facing Eviction Who Set Fire That Killed 4 Learns Prison Fate She’s going away for the rest of her life. Bobbie Sue Hodge, 66, of Edgewood, has been sentenced to life in prison, with all but 180 years to serve, for setting a deadly fire that killed four people in Harford County, officials announced. Hodge was sentenced to 40 years in prison for each of the four counts of first-degree felony murder and 20 years for three counts of second-degree assault.  The sentences run consecutively for a total of 180 years to serve, according to the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office. The case stems from a fire on May 9, 2019, in the 1900 block of Simo…

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by Zak Failla
News
‘Organs’ Found Near Havre de Grace Dumpster Spark Police Scare (DEVELOPING) ‘Organs’ Found Near Havre de Grace Dumpster Spark Police Scare (DEVELOPING)
‘Organs’ Found Near Havre de Grace Dumpster Spark Police Scare (Developing) A suspicious find near a dumpster in Harford County sent first responders scrambling Tuesday afternoon. Officers with the Havre de Grace Police Department were called around 3:09 p.m. on July 15, to the 100 block of Ohio Street, authorities said. When they arrived, they found what “appeared to be organs and unknown tissues near a dumpster,” the department said. Detectives and investigators from the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner responded to the scene, and the recovered material was sent for testing and analysis. According to police, the items were tested and “found to be n…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Man Exposes Himself To Shoppers Inside Groveton Store, Then Flees: Police Man Exposes Himself To Shoppers Inside Groveton Store, Then Flees: Police
Man Exposes Himself To Shoppers Inside Groveton Store, Then Flees: Police He exposed more than just poor judgment, and now police want to expose his identity. Detectives in Virginia are searching for a man who put on an inappropriate show for at least two shoppers inside a store in Groveton and then fled before officers arrived, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. The incident happened around 10:15 p.m. on Monday, June 30, at a store in the 6600 block of Richmond Highway, authorities said. According to police, the man approached two victims inside the store and "exposed himself" before quickly leaving the area. Detectives from the department’s Ma…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Teen Shot Dead Outside Stafford County Apartment Complex, Two Minors Arrested, Sheriff Says Teen Shot Dead Outside Stafford County Apartment Complex, Two Minors Arrested, Sheriff Says
Teen Shot Dead Outside Stafford County Apartment Complex, Two Minors Arrested, Sheriff Says A 19-year-old was shot and killed outside a Virginia apartment complex — and now two teens are behind bars. The deadly encounter was reported shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, in the England Run Apartments Subdivision in South Stafford, the sheriff's office announced. Deputies rushed to the scene around 10:56 p.m. after receiving multiple 911 calls about shots fired, and when they arrived, they found the teen victim suffering from gunshot wounds. Incident Alert:Deputies are currently in the England Run Subdivision investigating reports of a shooting. We ask residents to use cauti…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Boat-Towing Driver Passed Out, Killed Nursing Student In Head-On VA Crash: Police Boat-Towing Driver Passed Out, Killed Nursing Student In Head-On VA Crash: Police
Boat-Towing Driver Passed Out, Killed Nursing Student In Head-On VA Crash: Police A Virginia driver who blacked out while hauling a boat and caused the crash that killed a 33-year-old nursing student, wife and mother is now facing charges, officials said. Steven Kowalik, 64, of Leesburg, was indicted for involuntary manslaughter and turned himself in to face the charges, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. The crash happened around 5:14 p.m. on April 23, near the intersection of Ox Road and Davis Drive in Lorton, police said. Detectives with the Crash Reconstruction Unit said Kowalik was driving a 2012 Ford F-350 towing a fishing boat northbound on Ox Roa…

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by Zak Failla
News
Workers Hospitalized After Virginia Building Collapse, Officials Say (DEVELOPING) Workers Hospitalized After Virginia Building Collapse, Officials Say (DEVELOPING)
Workers Hospitalized After Virginia Building Collapse, Officials Say (Developing) Three workers were injured after a building under construction collapsed in Virginia, officials said. Firefighters from the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department and the City of Fairfax Fire Department rushed to the 3500 block of Cedar Lane shortly after 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16, following reports of a structural collapse at a construction site. Crews from the agency's Technical Rescue Operations Team and other emergency responders worked together to stabilize the scene and assist the victims. Three people were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. The nature and extent o…

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by Zak Failla
News
Maryland Mail Mayhem: USPS Letter Carrier Stabbed On Route In Baltimore, Officials Say Maryland Mail Mayhem: USPS Letter Carrier Stabbed On Route In Baltimore, Officials Say
Maryland Mail Mayhem: USPS Letter Carrier Stabbed On Route In Baltimore, Officials Say A Baltimore man is facing a federal indictment after allegedly stabbing a US Postal Service letter carrier who was just trying to deliver mail on his route, authorities announced. Jamie Paul Taylor, 47, was charged with assaulting a federal employee after a violent encounter on Strickland Street in Baltimore on June 11, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. The feds say Taylor "assaulted a United States Postal Service letter carrier who was engaged in performing official duties"—and he did it with a knife. According to the indictment, Taylor accused the victim…

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by Zak Failla
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