A man accused of the armed robbery of an exotic dancer in Arizona five years ago has been charged with murder, kidnapping, and other crimes in her horrific 2023 death, according to court records obtained Tuesday.
Cudjoe Young, 29, was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, arson, theft, and armed robbery with a deadly weapon in the death of Mercedes Vega on April 16, 2023, according to a copy of the indictment.
A second suspect, Sencere Hayes, was charged with Vega’s murder last year and was indicted Thursday on the same charges as Young, as well as hindering prosecution, according to the indictment.
Their arraignment is scheduled for Friday.
According to jail records, Hayes is being held in lieu of a $4 million bond. According to the records, Young is being held without bond in a separate case.
Attorneys for Hayes and Young did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A spokesperson for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said the charges against Vega are still pending and declined further comment.
A third suspect, Jared Gray, had previously been charged with murder in the case and was being extradited to Arizona from Georgia, where he was being held on unrelated charges. According to jail records reviewed on Tuesday, he does not appear to be in custody in Maricopa County.
Authorities say Vega, 22, was kidnapped from her apartment building’s parking garage on the night of April 16. Her car, a Dodge Charger, was later found abandoned nearby, and she was discovered beaten, shot, and burned in the back seat of a Chevrolet Malibu on an interstate east of Phoenix before dawn on April 17.
Authorities reported that bleach had been poured down her throat.
Vega’s family long believed her death was linked to an armed robbery at her Phoenix apartment building on Oct. 12, 2020, when a masked assailant robbed her at gunpoint after she finished a shift at a Phoenix strip club.
Young was charged with armed robbery after Vega identified him as a suspect, according to police records, and her mother claims she was scheduled to testify in that case on the day she was discovered dead.
According to authorities, two other women who worked at the same club as Young were targeted in similar crimes by a man who fit Young’s description. He was charged with attempted robbery in one of the cases. Young has pleaded not guilty.
There have been no arrests in the third case.
Young’s trial for robbery and attempted robbery was set to begin Tuesday, but he asked to have his attorney removed and is now representing himself, according to his former lawyer.
Burges McCowan, the attorney in question, confirmed in an email that he will remain on the case as Young’s advisory counsel.
McCowan has declined to comment on the allegations.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, which investigated the case, had previously sought conspiracy charges for Vega’s murder and kidnapping. A probable cause statement filed last month alleges Young paid two people to pick up the Malibu that Vega’s body was discovered in after purchasing it from an online seller in March.
Authorities suggested that he may have also purchased plane tickets for his co-defendants from Tennessee to Arizona.
According to the statement, a fingerprint found on a grocery bag in Vega’s car belonged to Hayes, and a print of Gray’s was discovered on a plastic cup in Malibu.
