Man accused in armed robbery of Phoenix dancer has been charged in her brutal murder
A man accused in the armed robbery of an exotic dancer in Arizona five years ago was accused of murder, kidnapping and other crimes in his horrible murder in 2023, according to the judicial archives obtained on Tuesday.
Cudjoe Young, 29, was charged for first degree murder, kidnapping, criminal fire, theft and armed robbery with a deadly weapon in the murder of Mercedes Vega on April 16, 2023, a copy of the accusation act shows.
A second suspect, Sencere Hayes, was accused of the murder of Vega last year and charged on the same charges on Thursday as Young, as well as to hinder the prosecution, according to the indictment.
Their indictments are scheduled for Friday.
Hayes is held instead of a deposit of $ 4 million, according to prison files. Young is detained without surety as part of a separate case, according to the files.
Lawyers from Hayes and Young did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
A spokesperson for the Office of the County of Maricopa said that the charges linked to Vega remain open and refused new comments.
A third suspect, Jared Gray, has already been accused of murder in the case and awaited extradition with the Arizona of Georgia, where he was detained for unrelated charges. The prison files examined on Tuesday showed that he did not seem to be in detention in the county of Maricopa.
The authorities say that Vega, 22, was kidnapped in the parking lot of his building on the night of April 16. Her car – a Dodge Charger – was then found abandoned nearby, and she was found beaten, shot down and burned in the back seat of a Chevrolet Malibu in an intellectual east of Phoenix before Dawn on April 17.
Bleach had been poured into his throat, the authorities said.
VEGA’s family thought that his death was linked to an armed robbery in his Phoenix building on October 12, 2020, when a masked attacker stole him under the threat of a weapon after finishing a quarter of work in a Phoenix strip club.
Young was accused of armed robbery after Vega identified him as a suspect, according to the police archives, and her mother said she was to testify in this case the day she was found dead.
Two other women working in the same club as Young were targeted in similar crimes by a man who equaled the description of Young, the authorities said. He was accused of attempted qualified flight in one of the cases. Young pleaded not guilty.
No arrest was made in the third case.
Young’s trial in the flight and an attempted theft should start on Tuesday, but he sought to have his lawyer withdrawn and now represented, said his former lawyer.
This lawyer, Burges McCowan, said in an email that he would remain in the case as an advisory council of Young.
McCowan refused to comment on the allegations.
The Sheriff’s Bureau of the county of Maricopa, who investigated the case, previously asked for accusations of conspiracy linked to the murder and kidnapping of Vega. A press release of the probable cause listed last month, alleged that Young paid two people to recover the Malibu in which Vega’s body was found after being bought through an online seller in March.
The authorities suggested that he also bought plane tickets from his co-accused from Tennessee to Arizona.
A fingerprint found on a grocery bag in Vega’s car was that of Hayes, and an impression of Gray was discovered on a plastic cup in Malibu, according to the press release.
