Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrests of Augusto Gomez-Perez, 70, North Bergen on charges of Murder, Possession Of A Weapon For An Unlawful Purpose, and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, and Jorge A. Sanchez-Valdez, 48, Guttenburg, on a charge of Hindering His Own Apprehension.
The arrests are the result of an investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and the Maywood Police Department.
According to police, on Tuesday, February 16, at approximately 6:05 p.m., the Paramus Police Department received a 911 call reporting an injured party in the area of the Bergen Towne Center mall in Maywood.
Upon arrival to the area, police reported that officers found a 64-year-old male, Omar Cruz of Albany, New York, with stab wounds. He was transported to the Hackensack University Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased.
An investigation conducted by detectives from the Maywood Police Department and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit was initiated and revealed that Gomez-Perez murdered Omar Cruz. The investigation also revealed that Sanchez-Valdez hindered his own apprehension.
According to police, on Wednesday, February 17, Gomez-Perez was arrested and charged with one count of Murder, one count of Possession Of A Weapon For An Unlawful Purpose, one count of Hindering and one count of Unlawful Possession Of A Weapon. Sanchez-Valdez was arrested and charged with one count of Hindering.
They were remanded to the Bergen County Jail pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.