Three arrested for assault on elderly couple

VINELAND, N.J. - September 23, 2010 (WPVI) -- Police in New Jersey have arrested three men in a brutal assault on an elderly couple.

The suspects - Heraldo Ramirez , Luis Torres and Victor Torres - were arrested after an intense three month investigation and charged on Tuesday.

The victims, William and Ledy Ocasio, were both severely beaten in the driveway of their Vineland home on June 18th.

They are both still recovering from their injuries.

William Ocasio spent two-and-a-half months in the hospital. He and his wife sat down with Action News earlier this month.

It was back on June 18th at 11:36 p.m. when he and his wife were returning home in the 200 block of Yelkca Avenue. That's when they were ambushed after parking their vending truck in their driveway by two armed gunmen wearing ski masks who demanded all the cash.

"I tell him if you want the money, take the money but don't hurt my husband, don't hurt me, please," said Leidy.

"And I gave them the money, so after they had the money in their hands, they hit me with that bar," said William.

"I hear my husband yell. I'm nervous, my nerves are freezing, I am very, very nervous," said Ledy.

William was struck hard over the head with a crowbar rendering him unconscious. His wife was also struck hard over the head but she managed to run to a neighbor's house for help.

Both were airlifted to hospitals in critical condition.

William later suffered a heart attack. To this day he suffers neurological problems and, according to their daughter, both their lives have been terribly changed.

"They're fearful of being in their own house at night. They don't sleep well at night. Any little sound they hear, they're looking out the window. And they're afraid, really to be alone at night time," said Sara Ocasio.

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assault, vineland, new jersey, crime

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