North Bergen man sentenced to 35 years for fatal stabbing in 2021 in Bergen city center

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

Augusto Perez, who was convicted of aggravated manslaughter and hindering his own apprehension, was sentenced earlier this year after a jury trial. The sentencing was handed down in Bergen County Superior Court by Judge Susan J. Steele, JSC

Perez was arrested at his home in North Bergen on February 17, 2021, a day after the fatal stabbing. Prosecutors said Perez killed Cruz on Feb. 16, 2021, behind the Ulta Beauty store in 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 concluded in April 2024, a jury convicted Perez of aggravated manslaughter and of trying to conceal evidence by suppressing blood linking him to the crime.

The prosecution team, led by Chief Deputy Prosecutor Anthony Talarico and Assistant Prosecutor Ricky Ruddy, was supported by Detective Natalia Navarro of the Major Crimes Unit.