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Wednesday, may 14

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

Schools

Florida Man Left Loaded Gun In Car—9-Year-Old Took It To Charles County School, Sheriff Says A Florida man who left his loaded gun in a car before a 9-year-old brought it to school — where it later discharged inside a Maryland classroom — is now facing charges, police announced. Phillip McRay Bright, 68, of Crestview, Florida, has been charged in connection with the April 10 firearm incident at Billingsley Elementary School in Waldorf, according to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators say the 9-year-old student accidentally fired the gun inside a classroom after stashing it in his backpack days earlier. No one was injured, but the incident sparked a lockdown an…

by Zak Failla

05/14/2025

Traffic

Amtrak Train Slams Into Pickup Truck In Bristow—Driver Charged With Reckless Driving: Police The driver who caused a violent train strike in Virginia is now facing charges following an investigation into the crash, police say. Bealeton resident John Edward Bates, 54, was charged with reckless driving following a serious crash that caused chaos for some in Bristow last month. The strike was reported shortly before 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 15, at a private crossing near Milford Road and Bristow Road in Bristow, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Investigators say Bates was driving a 2019 Ford F-350 with a trailer westbound on Milford Road when he crossed the t…

by Zak Failla

05/14/2025

News

Massive Search Underway For Missing Kayaker On Monocacy River In Frederick, Officials Say Rescue crews are flooding the Monocacy River in Maryland after a kayaker went missing on Wednesday, May 15. Emergency responders are actively searching for a missing male kayaker in the area of Devilbiss Bridge Road, according to Frederick County Fire & Rescue. Crews from Frederick County, the Department of Natural Resources, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue, and the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office are all assisting in the search effort. Teams are staging on bridge overpasses along Biggs Ford, Devilbiss Bridge, and Links Bridge along the Monocacy River, officials said. The sear…

by Zak Failla

05/14/2025

Schools

Former Catholic School Teacher Connected To Child Porn, Solicitation In Chantilly, Sheriff Says A Virginia Catholic school teacher is behind bars after being arrested on multiple child porn and solicitation charges, authorities announced. Nicolas Martin Zimmerman, 35, of Chantilly, was arrested on April 7 and is facing multiple felony charges, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO). Zimmerman, a former teacher at St. Veronica’s Catholic School in Chantilly, taught at the school from August 2015 through February 2025, officials said on Wednesday, May 14. He was arrested in April. Zimmerman is now charged with two counts of felony electronic solicitation, nine counts …

by Zak Failla

05/14/2025

Police & Fire

Serial Flasher Busted In Fairfax County After 10-Year Indecent Exposure Spree, Police Say A 57-year-old man who couldn't keep it to himself was apprehended after multiple indecent exposure incidents in Virginia dating back a decade, officials say. Last month, the Fairfax County Police Department issued an alert as they sought a man connected to at least four separate incidents between 2015 and 2025. The incidents were reported in the 9500 block of Courthouse Road in Vienna and the 4600 block of Stonecroft Boulevard in Chantilly. The indecent exposure suspect. Fairfax County Police On Wednesday, May 24, authorities announced that Fairfax resident Arthur Mobley has b…

by Zak Failla

05/14/2025

Police & Fire

‘Snip And Slip’: St. Mary's County Assault Suspect Cuts Off Ankle Monitor, Flees: Sheriff Andrew Nelson snipped off his ankle monitor—then slipped away before police could catch him, officials said in Maryland. Nelson, 29, of Hollywood, is on the run after cutting off his GPS monitor while awaiting trial on assault charges, according to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to Saint Johns Road in Hollywood after a tampering alarm went off on Nelson’s court-ordered tracking device, investigators said. When they arrived, they found the monitor—but no sign of Nelson. A witness told police they watched Nelson use bolt cutters to slice it off, according to…

by Zak Failla

05/14/2025

Traffic

I-495 Chaos: Wanted Driver Crashes, Flips Car In Virginia Beltway Pursuit, Police Say A wanted driver fled from police on the Beltway—then ran on foot after flipping his car during a crash involving multiple vehicles, authorities in Virginia announced. A high-speed pursuit on I-495 ended in a multi-car crash and foot pursuit on Wednesday morning, May 14, according to Virginia State Police. It all started shortly before 9 a.m., when a Virginia State Trooper tried to stop a driver on I-495 northbound near Braddock Road for violating cell phone laws, police say. A records check revealed the driver was wanted on outstanding warrants in Fairfax and Prince William Counties, offic…

by Zak Failla

05/14/2025

Police & Fire

House Fire Kills Two As Flames Tear Through Harford County Home, Officials Say Flames tore through a Harford County home on Wednesday morning, claiming the lives of two people, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office. Deputy state fire marshals are investigating a double-fatal fire in Joppa, after two people were found dead inside a burning home, officials announced on May 14. Update on the Gunpowder Drive house fire:Volunteer Firefighters have rescued 2 civilians from the burning home, they are being treated by 2!HarfordCoDES EMS units. @MarylandOSFM is responding. — Harford Co., MD Fire & EMS (@HarforCoFireEMS) May 14, 2025 Crews from the…

by Zak Failla

05/14/2025

Police & Fire

Uncle ID’d In Baltimore I-695 Triple Fatal Crash That Killed Two Young Girls: State Police Maryland State Police have identified the man behind the wheel of a Jeep that crashed and killed two third-graders in a fiery wreck off I-695. Devin Frink, 36, of Baltimore, was officially identified on Wednesday, May 14, as the driver killed alongside his two young passengers in a triple-fatal crash last month in Baltimore County, according to state police. Police confirmed that Frink was the uncle of one of the girls, but did not release their names in accordance with state law. The girls have since been identified by the community as Bailee Brooks and Serenity Gross, both 9-year-old thi…

by Zak Failla

05/14/2025

Police & Fire

Serial Thief In Maryland Hit With Wave Of New Charges In St. Mary's County, Sheriff Says He had no home, but plenty to steal. Donell Davonne Rothwell, 54, who has no fixed address, is accused of breaking into multiple vehicles in St. Mary's County, stealing credit cards and valuables, and using them to shop at local stores, according to the sheriff's office. Now, he faces a total 46 criminal charges. Deputies took Rothwell into custody last month following a rash of reports of thefts from unattended vehicles, officials said. During a canvas of local businesses and neighborhoods in Lexington Park and California, investigators say they found evidence linking Rothwell to the veh…

by Zak Failla

05/14/2025

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