Waldwick Man Arrested in Connection with Vicious Schoolyard Assault

arrested a third individual in connection with the  Thursday of a 19-year-old Ridgewood man. 

Samer Suhaid Saleh, of Waldwick, was charged with robbery, theft, and inflicting serious bodily injury with a baseball bat or pipe, late Friday.

Saleh, 25, became a suspect after he was caught talking about his participation in the crime, according to Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox.

"The morning after the robbery, an off-duty police officer from another police department was inside of a business when he overheard Saleh bragging about his involvement in beating someone the previous evening," Fox wrote in a press release Saturday. "That officer provided information to the Wyckoff Police and Saleh was picked up by Detective Sgt. Joseph Soto and Sgt. Michael Ragucci."

Saleh was charged following an interview, Fox said.

Fox now believes that initial reports of two attackers were inaccurate, and that three men assaulted the 19-year-old.

"My officers have done a fantastic professional investigation to this point, but were not done yet," Fox said. "I'm confident that we will conclude this soon with one more arrest of another man who we believe is the final person that was involved in this violent assault."

According to police, Saleh, Daniel Chaupiz, and another individual used a bat and a pipe to visiously attack the Ridgewood man on Thursday night at .

Chaupiz, 20, was arrested at his Wyckoff residence hours after . 

Police claim Tocci, 19, of Wyckoff, asked her ex-boyfriend to drive around with her in a new Ford Fusion she recently purchased. They drove to Lincoln School at around 10:30 p.m. when Tocci reportedly suggested they go for a walk.

Chaupiz, according to Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox, was waiting at the schoolyard with a baseball bat. He was joined by two armed accomplices, police said.

"The men beat him as Tocci allegedly watched," Fox said. "The men took his wallet and removed the cash, as well as his cell phone [which] they smashed. The victim was left bleeding on the ground, and the men got into Tocci's car and she drove them away."

The victim, bloodied and battered, walked to a nearby residence and was later taken to the hospital, suffering from head injuries that required stitches, Fox said.

In an interview Friday afternoon, Chaupiz denied any role in the alleged assault and robbery and said he was never at the scene.

Fox said the motive remains unclear at this point and the investigation remains open.

Tocci was arrested following a traffic stop on Franklin Avenue on Friday at 3 a.m. while driving the blue Ford Fusion, Fox said. She was charged with robbery by force and is free on $50,000 bail.

The charges filed are "serious charges," Detective Soto said. "There is a possibility of jail time for these individuals."

James Kleimann contributed reporting.

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