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Wednesday, jul 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

Police & Fire

5-Year-Old Deandre Pettus Jr. Found Dead In DC Apartment; Father Now Charged With Murder: MPD A DC father has been indicted for murder months after his 5-year-old son, Deandre Pettus Jr., was found unresponsive in their apartment, police said. Officers with the Metropolitan Police Department responded at 9:44 a.m. on Sunday, October 6, 2024, to the 4500 block of Connecticut Avenue, Northwest, for a report of an unconscious child inside a DC home, officials said. United States Secret Service officers arrived first and began CPR on the child, according to police. DC Fire and EMS personnel then took over, but lifesaving efforts failed, and the child was pronounced dead by first re…

by Zak Failla

07/15/2025

Politics

Trump Targets Schiff’s Maryland Home In Fiery Feud: ‘Bring Him To Justice’ Maryland just became the center of the latest Trump-Schiff blowup — and this time, it’s personal. Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday, July 15, accusing Democratic California Sen. Adam Schiff of committing “a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud” related to his Maryland property, while calling for Schiff to be “brought to justice.” CNN first reported on Schiff's Maryland property in 2023. “I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist,” Trump wrote at 10:20 a.m. on Tuesday, setting off a series of statements that played out publicly. “And n…

by Zak Failla

07/15/2025

News

Hero Maryland Teen Saves Siblings From Fiery Air Fryer Blaze In Edgewood: Officials A 14-year-old Maryland girl is being praised for keeping her cool under pressure and getting her younger siblings to safety after a kitchen fire broke out while the kids were home alone. Shortly after 12:20 p.m. on Tuesday, July 15, crews were called to a townhouse fire on the 600 block of Burlington Court in Edgewood, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal. Investigators said the fire started in the kitchen of the two-story middle-unit townhouse while three children were cooking French fries in an air fryer with no adults home. The 14-year-old began to smell smoke and went to invest…

by Zak Failla

07/15/2025

News

Life Sentences For North East, MD Double Murderers Who Killed Couple In Cold Blood Two Maryland men will spend the rest of their lives behind bars for gunning down a couple inside their home in a brutal 2023 double murder, prosecutors announced. Jordan Patrick Perry and Richard Lee Stone were sentenced to multiple consecutive life terms for the murders of Ashley Dove Brown, 34, and Christopher Blain Thomas, 35, in North East, the Cecil County State’s Attorney’s Office said. On Monday, July 14, Perry was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus 95 years for his role in the deadly shooting on Bethel Church Road, according to Circuit Court Judge William W. Davis, Jr. Ju…

by Zak Failla

07/15/2025

News

Girl, 7, Faces Amputation After Freak Lawnmower Accident In St. Mary's County A quiet summer day turned into every parent’s nightmare — and now, a 7-year-old Southern Maryland girl is facing a long fight after a freak accident. Brooklynn Wells was seriously injured on Tuesday, July 9, in a lawnmower accident while visiting family, according to her family. The incident happened while Khyri Wells was cutting the grass for his in-laws, according to loved ones. The girl was picking grapes from the vine nearby, and as her father came around the vine, she stepped in the opposite direction to get out of the way, tripped, and her foot slipped under the mower, the fami…

by Zak Failla

07/15/2025

Police & Fire

Man Threatens To 'Kill Everybody' Over Honey Packet Dispute In South Stafford: Sheriff A man threatened to kill everyone inside a Virginia business — all over a honey packet. Deputies with the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office were called to the Shell station on Warrenton Road just after 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 13, for a reported brandishing incident, according to a the agency on Tuesday, July 15. When deputies arrived, witnesses told them a man had pulled a gun and made threats, claims which were confirmed by surveillance video, deputies said. According to investigators, the man entered the store and put a honey packet in his pocket, then got into an argument with the store c…

by Zak Failla

07/15/2025

News

‘Miracle In Maryland’: Toddler Survives 15-Story Fall From White Oak Apartment Balcony He fell from a 15th-floor balcony — and survived. Now, 2-year-old TJ Thompson is fighting to walk again, and his grandparents are asking for the community's help with his recovery. On Thursday, May 15, around 2:10 p.m., Montgomery County Police responded to the 1500 block of Oak Leaf Drive in White Oak for a reported fall. When officers arrived, they found a toddler who had fallen from a 15th-floor apartment balcony into the bushes below, according to police. First responders rushed the child to the hospital, where officials said he was treated for a broken leg and multiple in…

by Zak Failla

07/15/2025

Obituaries

DC Teen Killed In Crash After Stolen Car From Maryland Slams I-295 Guardrail: Police A 16-year-old boy from Southeast DC is dead after police say a stolen car taken out of Maryland slammed into a guardrail on I-295 over the weekend, killing him and sending two others running from the scene. Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department responded at approximately 9:06 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, to southbound I-295 just before the Howard Road/Suitland Parkway exit, for a reported single-vehicle crash, MPD announced. When officers arrived, they found a young boy in the backseat of the crashed vehicle unconscious and not breathing, police said. According to MPD, DC Fire and…

by Zak Failla

07/15/2025

Sports

Former MLB Pitcher Dan Serafini Convicted Of Killing Father-In-Law Over $1.3M Dispute Former MLB pitcher Dan Serafini has been convicted of murdering his father-in-law and attempting to kill his mother-in-law over a reported financial dispute. Serafini, 51, who spent parts of nine seasons bouncing around multiple Major League teams, was found guilty in the 2021 shooting of Robert Gary Sphor, 70, and his wife, Wendy Wood, 68, according to the Placer County District Attorney's Office. The former Pittsburgh Pirate was also convicted of first-degree burglary. The guilty verdicts come after a 6-week trial during which the jury heard testimony from dozens of witnesses and t…

by Zak Failla

07/15/2025

Police & Fire

Family Friend Sexually Abused Young Girl In Gainesville: Police A trusted family friend is behind bars after allegedly sexually assaulting a young girl inside a Virginia home over the course of several weeks, police said. Officers with the Prince William County Police Department were called shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 10, to investigate a reported sexual assault at a home in the 6700 block of Stapleton Place in Gainesville, according to authorities. The assault reportedly took place between June and July 2025, investigators said. According to police, the girl told a family member she had been sexually assaulted by a family friend during…

by Zak Failla

07/15/2025

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