'She was so terrified': Valley woman was robbed at gunpoint years before she was brutally murdered
Police and court records show Mercedes Vega wasn't the only victim. Two other women who worked with Vega reported to police that they were also targeted.
Mercedes Vega, the 22-year-old woman who was tortured and murdered in April of 2023, was the victim of another violent crime less than three years before her death.
Vega was last seen on the night of April 16, 2023, in surveillance footage from her Tempe apartment complex. She was walking to her car in the parking garage. Hours later, her body was found on fire inside a car on the I-10 freeway about a hundred miles away near Tonopah.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: I-TEAM: Mercedes Vega fue asaltada a mano armada menos de tres años antes de ser asesinada
A medical examiner's report revealed the evil she faced before her murder. She had blunt force injuries, a gunshot wound and bleach was discovered in her throat. Gloves and bleach were found in the front of the vehicle.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office is investigating Vega's shocking death. No arrests have been made.
Vega's family and friends want the public to know as much as possible about the 22-year-old so they are now speaking publicly about another violent crime involving Vega that happened in October 2020.
Vega violently robbed October 12, 2020
Police and court records detail what happened in the early morning hours of October 12, 2020.
Just before 5 a.m., Vega was just getting home to her apartment near 16th Street and Thomas Road from her job at a gentleman's club.
As soon as she pulled into the parking lot and got out of her car, a man wearing a mask and gloves pointed a gun at her and demanded she give him her phone, keys and her bag containing money.
The report states Vega feared for her life so she complied. Her mother, Erika Pillsbury, said she was then shoved to the ground.
“She had gravel in her back," Pillsbury said. “She was 19 years old. She was a baby and she was so terrified. She was so scared.”
Pillsbury remembers getting the call from police around 5 a.m. She rushed to her daughter's apartment, which Vega never went back to. She moved out immediately and carefully chose a new apartment in Tempe she felt was safer.
“I remember she was just scared," said Makayla Valentine, Vega's friend. "She was trying to kind of start over in a different way, do different things than what she was doing. I felt like she tried to take it as a lesson learned."
“She also really wanted to warn other people, like girls our age," said Brooke Myree, Vega's friend. "Especially just fellow dancers.”
Vega's coworker violently robbed November 16, 2020
Another dancer from the same club Vega worked as was targeted one month later, records show.
As the woman was getting home to her Scottsdale apartment around 3:45 a.m., she was approached by a man at gunpoint. He ran away when a passerby arrived.
Police reports confirm a man was seen on surveillance footage walking through the complex's parking garage wearing a hooded sweatshirt and gloves and as soon as the woman got out of her car, the man approached her at gunpoint.
Vega noticed activity on her cash apps following the crimes. A person was trying to transfer money out of her account and into his. Police tracked down that person's account information and learned the suspect's vehicle information.
That led them to Cudjoe Young.
Vega identifies robbery suspect December 2020
Vega identified Cudjoe Young in a photo lineup. He was subsequently charged with armed robbery and attempt to commit armed robbery.
Following Young's arrest, he posted his bonds. He was issued a $30,000 bond in Vega's case and a $15,000 bond in the Scottsdale case.
He was out on bond at the time of Vega's death in April 2023.
Court records show he may have had an ankle monitor. When he was released from custody in December 2021, he was released with electronic monitoring.
12News asked court officials to confirm that Young was wearing the ankle monitor in April 2023 and to provide the GPS information. Court officials declined to comment, citing Supreme Court Rule 123.
In May 2023, Young's attorney, Marc Victor, filed a motion to withdraw from Young's case. The motion was granted.
12News asked MCSO if they have investigated potential links between the robberies and the homicide investigation, and about the ankle monitor.
A spokesperson said, "We will not comment on this or any other possible connects at this point."
Young arrested in narcotics case November 2023
In November 2023, Young was arrested in a Tempe PD narcotics operation. He was accused of facilitating a large-scale drug transaction involving around 40,000 pills containing fentanyl, according to court documents.
Records show eleven other co-defendants have been charged in that case. While some have been offered plea deals, Young has not.
He's facing a long list of charges including conspiracy, illegally conducting an enterprise, money laundering, transporting drugs for sale, and others.
He has been held without bail since his arrest.
“I'm very grateful that he's sitting with no bond," Pillsbury said.
Young was supposed to go to trial for the two armed robbery cases this week, but there was another change in his attorney. The trial has now been pushed to October.
Vega is no longer here to aid in his prosecution. Pillsbury said her family has been instructed not to discuss Vega'smurder during the robbery hearings.
“In honor of my daughter, I will be there every single day in court representing her because she deserves it," Pillsbury said.
Review of third violent robbery 2019
About a year before Vega and the Scottsdale woman were victimized, a third dancer at the same gentlemen's club was the victim of an armed robbery.
A Scottsdale PD report shows she called 911 after a man wearing a ski mask pointed a gun at her and took her bag of money.
She alerted police immediately but a suspect was never identified.
This week, Scottsdale PD said the Violent Crimes Unit is reviewing that case to see if it is connected.
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