By: Richard L. Smith
A North Bergen man has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for the 2021 stabbing death of Omar Cruz at the Bergen Town Center mall in Maywood, New Jersey.
According to a statement released by Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella, Augusto Perez was sentenced in Bergen County Superior Court on Wednesday, October 16, 2024.
The fatal incident occurred on February 16, 2021, when Perez stabbed Cruz behind the Ulta Beauty store at the Bergen Town Center mall.
An investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, along with the Maywood and Paramus Police Departments, led to Perez’s arrest at his North Bergen home the following day.
After a six-week trial, a jury convicted Perez of aggravated manslaughter and hindering his own apprehension by attempting to suppress blood evidence linking him to the crime.
The trial was presided over by Judge Susan J. Steele in Bergen County Superior Court, and Perez was officially sentenced to 35 years in New Jersey State Prison on October 16, 2024.