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

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HACKENSACK, NJ — A North Bergen man was sentenced Wednesday to 35 years in state prison for the 2021 stabbing death of Omar Cruz behind a downtown Bergen store in Maywood, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office said.

Augusto Perez, who was convicted of aggravated involuntary manslaughter and hindering his own arrest, received his sentence after a jury trial earlier this year. The verdict was announced in Bergen County Superior Court by Judge Susan J. Steele, JSC

Perez was arrested at his home in North Bergen on February 17, 2021, one day after the fatal stabbing. Prosecutors said Perez killed Cruz on Feb. 16, 2021, behind the Ulta Beauty store at the mall. Investigators from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Maywood Police Department and the Paramus Police Department identified Perez as the suspect.

After a six-week trial that ended in April 2024, a jury convicted Perez of aggravated involuntary manslaughter and attempting to conceal evidence by suppressing blood that linked him to the crime.

The prosecution team, led by Senior Deputy District Attorney Anthony Talarico and Assistant District Attorney Ricky Ruddy, was assisted by Detective Natalia Navarro of the Major Crimes Unit.