Allegany County trials set for Zizians
CUMBERLAND — Trials are set to be held next month for three people connected to the Zizians, arrested on private property near Frostburg and detained in Allegany County.
Maryland State Police Sunday arrested Jack LaSota, 33, Daniel Blank, 26, and Michelle Zajko, 32, off of Piney Mountain Road.
'Lasota was arrested and charged with trespassing, obstructing and hindering, firearm in vehicle; Zajko was arrested and charged with trespassing, obstructing and hindering, resisting arrest, handgun on person; Blank was arrested and charged with trespassing, obstructing and hindering,' MSP said via press release Monday.
It's unknown what they were doing near Frostburg.
The trio were transported to the Allegany County Detention Center for an appearance before a district court commissioner.
Each of them appeared from the facility via videoconference Tuesday for a hearing at Allegany County District Court, where a judge described them as dangerous flight risks and denied their requests for bail.
Their trials are set for 1 p.m. March 24 at Allegany County District Court.
As of Wednesday, it was unclear whether the defendants, who are not from Maryland, had secured attorneys for the upcoming court cases.
Zizians
According to The Associated Press, the Zizians is 'a cultlike group connected to six killings in three states.'
Members of the group 'have been tied to the death of a woman during an attack on a California landlord in November 2022, the landlord's subsequent slaying in January and the deaths of a Pennsylvania couple in between,' the AP reported.
The Pennsylvania victims were the parents of Michelle Zajko.
Vermont-Border Patrol Shooting
FILE - This Jan. 29, 2025 photo shows a Chester Heights, Pa., home, the scene of the 2022 killing of Richard and Rita Zajko, (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
'Most recently, the group has been linked to a highway shootout in Vermont that left a U.S. Border Patrol agent and a car passenger dead,' AP reported of Agent David Maland and a German national in the country on what the Federal Bureau of Investigation called a current visa.
Guns
According to VTDigger, an independent digital news organization that covers Vermont, federal authorities in that state charged Michelle Zajko, 32, with making false statements to buy three firearms in February 2024 that were later used in a fatal shooting.
Border Patrol Zizians Killings
This image provided by the Allegany County Sheriff's Office shows Michelle Zajko. (Allegany County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Documents filed Tuesday in federal court in Burlington, Vermont, show 'two of those guns were later traced back to Teresa Youngblut, of Washington state, and Felix Bauckholt, a German national, who were involved in a Jan. 20 shootout on Interstate 91 in Coventry,' VTDigger reported. 'Bauckholt and David Maland, a border patrol agent, were killed in that incident.'
According to court documents, that afternoon, after Maland pulled over a Toyota Prius with North Carolina license plates, 'Youngblut came out of the vehicle and opened fire,' the news organization reported. 'Bauckholt, a passenger in the car, also drew a gun, court records stated, but was killed before firing a shot.'
Following the incident, Youngblut was found in possession of a Glock .40-caliber pistol and Bauckholt had a Smith and Wesson M&P Shield .380-caliber pistol in a holster on his waistband.
'Both guns had been purchased by Zajko on Feb. 14, 2024, according to those filings,' VTDigger reported.
'The charging documents do not describe how the guns got from Zajko to Youngblut and Bauckholt.'
Interviews
The Cumberland Times-News on Wednesday asked to interview LaSota, Zajko and Blank.
Officials at the detention center said interview requests must be made in writing to the Allegany County Sheriff's Office.
The newspaper emailed Sheriff Craig Robertson, who said he'll ask the three people if they agree to talk to the newspaper.
'It ends up being their decision,' he said.
Border Patrol Zizians Killings
This image provided by the Allegany County Sheriff's Office shows Jack Lasota. (Allegany County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Border Patrol-Zizians Killings
This image provided by the Allegany County Sheriff's Office shows Daniel Blank. (Allegany County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Documentary
Molly Oswaks is a producer at XTR in Los Angeles.
Since its inception in 2019, XTR has produced and financed more than 80 documentaries, including 'They Call Me Magic' on AppleTV+ and MTV Documentary Films' Oscar-nominated 'Ascension,' the studio's website states.
The nonfiction entertainment studio is in early development for a documentary about the Zizians.
Although other documentary teams have expressed interest in the cultlike group, XTR was 'the only production company out there with a camera' at Tuesday's bail hearing, Oswaks said.
XTR has partnered with Rolling Stone magazine to make the documentary.
'We have a good relationship with all the major streamers,' she said of companies, including Netflix and Prime Video.
The Zizians group 'has all of the elements of a great documentary (with) stranger than fiction characters,' Oswaks said.
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