HACKENSACK, N.J. — A North Bergen man was sentenced Wednesday to 35 years in state prison for the 2021 stabbing death of Omar Cruz behind a store at Bergen Town Center in Maywood, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office announced.
Augusto Perez, who was convicted of aggravated manslaughter and hindering his own apprehension, received his sentence following a jury trial earlier this year. The sentencing was handed down in Bergen County Superior Court by Judge Susan J. Steele, J.S.C.
Perez was arrested on February 17, 2021, one day after the fatal stabbing, at his home in North Bergen. Prosecutors said Perez killed Cruz behind the Ulta Beauty store at the mall on February 16, 2021. Investigators from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, Maywood Police Department, and Paramus Police Department identified Perez as the suspect.
Following a six-week trial that concluded in April 2024, a jury convicted Perez of aggravated manslaughter and of trying to hide evidence by suppressing blood that linked him to the crime.
The prosecution team, led by Chief Assistant Prosecutor Anthony Talarico and Assistant Prosecutor Ricky Ruddy, was supported by Detective Natalia Navarro of the Major Crimes Unit.