North Bergen man sentenced to 35 years in prison for 2021 stabbing in Maywood

Bergen County

By: Richard L. Smith

A North Bergen man was 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 from 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 the arrest of Perez at his home in North Bergen 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 Bergen County Superior Court Judge Susan J. Steele and Perez was officially sentenced to 35 years in the New Jersey State Prison on October 16, 2024.