Law enforcement on Wednesday arrested two adult males in connection with a fatal stabbing Tuesday night time at a Bergen County buying centre that left a 65-yr-aged gentleman dead, authorities mentioned.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Place of work on Wednesday arrested Augusto G. Perez, 70, of North Bergen, and charged him with the murder of Omar Cruz, 64, of Albany, New York, in the parking great deal of the Bergen Town Center, a spokesperson for the Prosecutor’s Workplace verified.
Along with Perez, Jorge Sanchez-Valdez, 48, of Guttenberg, was arrested and billed with hindering apprehension in link with the slaying, the Prosecutor’s Office environment confirmed.
Both Perez and Sanchez-Valdez have been being held in the Bergen County Jail pending their to start with court appearance. The Prosecutor’s Business experienced submitted to detain both equally adult men, the spokesperson confirmed.
At about 6:05 p.m, law enforcement received a 911 phone of a stabbing in the large amount of the Bergen Town Middle, authorities earlier reported. When officers arrived, they were met with a grisly scene, a trail of blood on the exterior of the mall major to a pool of blood all around Cruz, in accordance to the grievance.
Officers arrived to find Cruz in the sprawling parking lot of the searching center with several stab wounds, slumped above near a pile of snow, according to the criticism. Law enforcement requested Cruz if he understood who stabbed him, the complaint said. He responded with Perez’s name.
“OC responded several moments that ‘Agosto’ experienced stabbed him,” the grievance mentioned.
Two witnesses informed police they noticed what took place after Cruz was stabbed, reportedly possessing listened to Cruz say “I’m dying” and that “Augusto” had stabbed him, the complaint explained.
Shortly immediately after he was identified, Cruz was taken to Hackensack College Health-related Middle, the place he later on died.
As a result of mobile telephone pings, police have been in a position to ascertain that Sanchez-Valdez and Perez had spoken on the cell phone just minutes after the 911 simply call and the deadly stabbing, the complaint reported.
The fatal stabbing in the sprawling Bergen Town Middle parking good deal was sparked by a dispute concerning Cruz and Sanchez-Valdez around $80, in accordance to the prison grievance.
Soon after Cruz had requested Sanchez-Valdez to transfer $80 to a female acquaintance, Cruz under no circumstances compensated Sanchez-Valdez back again, Sanchez-Valdez advised police, according to the complaint. The alleged personal debt led to Sanchez-Valdez threatening Cruz, in accordance to the criticism.
Sanchez-Valdez admitted to threatening Cruz, but denied obtaining any section in his murder or making contact with Perez, in accordance to the complaint.
But Perez’s tale to police conflicts with Sanchez-Valdez’s model, with Perez expressing that Sanchez-Valdez had called him several hours right before the bloody altercation, according to the criticism.
Early morning Tuesday, Sanchez-Valdez referred to as Perez, Perez told police, according to the complaint. Around 11 a.m. Tuesday, Perez went to a coffee store around his North Bergen house, exactly where he would ultimately satisfy with Cruz, the criticism reported.
At the coffee shop assembly, Cruz instructed Perez that Sanchez-Valdez experienced been sending threatening text messages, together with “sexually explicit pictures,” the complaint reported. Perez finished the conversation following telling Cruz he could not speak to him as he was on probation, the criticism explained.
Later Tuesday afternoon, Sanchez-Valdez identified as Perez to ask him if he experienced spoken to Cruz and the two would later meet at a cafe in Union City, in accordance to the criticism.
But Perez denied at any time likely to Paramus or Maywood, the criticism said.
The Bergen City Centre is an indoor and outdoor mall unfold out in excess of 105 acres in Maywood and Paramus, according to the mall’s web-site. The stabbing happened outside a magnificence store and in the vicinity of a grocery store.
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Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @rodrigotorrejon.
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