An alleged $40.00 debt leads to an argument and a fight that sent two men to the hospital with serious injuries after being struck with a baseball bat. On July 16 at 12:44am, Wyckoff Police responded to the Boulder Run Shopping Center after a 911 call was received of a fight in progress. Sgt. Brian Zivkovich, Ptl. Peter Goodman, and Ptl. Terrance Murphy responded and found an 18 year old Wyckoff man and an 18 year old Oakland man who had sustained serious injuries after being struck with a baseball bat. The investigation determined that earlier in the evening the victims had gone to the home of Ralph Zocco III, 235 Madison Avenue, Wyckoff, age 18; to attempt to collect on money that Zocco allegedly owed someone. The men were confronted by Zocco’s mother who ordered them off the property, and they left. Zocco allegedly then went looking for the men and found them in the parking lot of the shopping center. He brought with him a small baseball bat and began striking a vehicle belonging to someone in the group. A fight started and Zocco allegedly struck the Oakland man in the head and the wrist requiring ten stitches to his head. He then struck the Wyckoff man in the head and the elbow requiring surgery to his arm. Zocco fled the scene before the arrival of the police, and was arrested shortly after at his home. He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, criminal mischief, and two counts of possession of a weapon with intent to use it unlawfully.
Bail was set at $25,000 by Judge Russel B. Teschon, and Zocco was committed to the Bergen County Jail in default of bail. Det. Sgt. Joseph Soto assisted in the investigation.
