Fort Lee Man Gets 174 Years for Shooting Wayne Cop

A Fort Lee man who shot a Wayne police officer during a Route 23 gas station robbery in 2010 was sentenced Monday to more than 170 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

U.S. District Judge Stanley Chesler in Newark Federal Court sentenced Nelson Otero, 48, of Fort Lee, to 174 years. His accomplice, Maxcine Cagan, 48, of Floral Park, NY, was also sentenced Monday to 172 years in prison.

The men on May 10, 2010 at the Exxon station on Route 23 North. The officer was responding to a robbery at the station.

Both men were convicted in April of all 15 counts charged against them.

The men  in Bergen, Burlington, Mercer, Middlesex, Passaic and Union counties between March and May 2010, robbing at least seven businesses at gunpoint.

Otero and Cagan herded employees and customers into an office before Worrell confronted them. A bullet grazed Worell’s ear, leaving a 4-inch gash. Worell testified against the men at the trial.

The men also robbed a Shell gas station and 7-Eleven at gunpoint on April 5, 2010. They robbed the store of its proceeds and ordered victims to the back of the store and stole their personal belongings.

"We hope that these sentences will give Officer Worell some peace of mind and closure for the events of that night," Wayne Police Chief John Reardon said in a statement.

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