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 has been charged with murder, kidnapping and other crimes in her horrific 2023 killing, court records obtained Tuesday show.

Cudjoe Young, 29, was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, arson, theft and armed robbery with a deadly weapon in the April 16, 2023, killing of Mercedes Vega, a copy of the indictment shows.

A second suspect, Sencere Hayes, was charged with Vega’s murder last year and indicted July 24 on the same charges as Young, as well as on hindering prosecution, according to the indictment.

Their arraignments are scheduled for Aug. 1.

Hayes is being held in lieu of $4 million bond, jail records show. Young is being held without bond in connection with a separate case, according to the records.

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 linked to Vega remain open and declined further comment.

A third suspect, Jared Gray, was previously charged with murder in the case and was awaiting extradition to Arizona from Georgia, where he was held on unrelated charges. Jail records reviewed Tuesday showed that he did not appear to be in custody in Maricopa County.

Vega, 22, was allegedly 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 found beaten, shot and burned in the backseat of a Chevrolet Malibu on an interstate east of Phoenix in the pre-dawn hours of April 17.

Bleach had been poured down her throat, authorities have said.

Vega’s family long believed her death was linked to an armed robbery at Vega’s 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, police records show, and her mother has said she was scheduled to testify in that case on the day she was found dead.

Two other women who worked at the same club as Young were targeted in similar crimes by a man who matched Young’s description. He was charged with attempted robbery in one of the cases. Young has pleaded not guilty.

No arrests have been made in the third case.

Young’s trial in the robbery and attempted robbery were scheduled to begin Tuesday, but he sought to have his attorney removed and is now representing himself, his former lawyer said.

That attorney, Burges McCowan, said in an email that he will remain on the case as Young’s advisory counsel.

McCowan declined to comment on the allegations.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, which investigated the case, previously sought conspiracy charges related to Vega’s murder and kidnapping. According to a probable cause statement filed last month, Young allegedly paid two people to pick up the Malibu that Vega’s body was found in after it was bought through an online seller in March.

Authorities suggested that he may have also bought his co-defendants’ plane tickets from Tennessee to Arizona.

A fingerprint found on a grocery bag in Vega’s car belonged to Hayes, and a print that belonged to Gray was discovered on a plastic cup in the Malibu, according to the statement.