By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Opening statements began Tuesday in a 2020 armed robbery trial connected to one of the Valley’s most high-profile murder cases.
Read more One killed in three-vehicle crash near Kolb, Escalante in Tucson
Prosecutors say one man targeted two women working at the same Phoenix strip club, including Mercedes Vega, whose murder three years later shocked the Valley. She was found dead inside a burning car near Tonopah.
Prosecutors say Vega was the victim of an armed robbery and was later murdered so she couldn’t testify. Tuesday, the case went to trial without her testimony.
Prosecution outlines case against defendant
“He came at me with a gun. He told me to unlock my phone and give my phone to him, and he took my bag,” prosecutor Jennifer Linn said as she laid out her case against defendant Cudjoe Young.
It was October 2020 when Vega told police Young robbed her at gunpoint outside her apartment. Body cam video from officers who responded that night captured Vega’s account.
“How did he know I was going to be coming home at this time? He had to be following me,” Vega said in the video.
Vega picked Young out of a photo lineup and was set to testify against him at trial, investigators said.
In court, prosecutors also showed surveillance video from another robbery one month later involving another victim, Reese Pettyford.
“He told her, ‘Don’t say a word or I’ll kill you both,’” Linn said.
Video shows the moment a neighbor came to Pettyford’s rescue after a masked man hiding in her Scottsdale parking garage held her at gunpoint.
Similarities between two robberies
“We ask you to pay close attention to the similarities between what happened to Mercedes and what happened to Reese,” Linn said.
Read more Authorities looking for person of interest in Pima County homicide
Both victims worked at Le Girls. Both got off around 4 a.m. And both described a man in gloves, a black hoodie and a mask demanding their phones.
Defense challenges identification
“Miss Pettyford was asked to look at a photo lineup. And while she made an identification, Miss Pettyford herself was not certain about the identification she was making,” Candance Shoemaker, Young’s defense attorney, said.
The defense kept its argument simple Tuesday, arguing investigators can’t prove Young was the gunman.
“He wasn’t the guy with the gun,” the defense said.
Young has pleaded not guilty to armed robbery and attempted armed robbery charges. He and two other defendants also face charges in Mercedes Vega’s murder case.
The trial is expected to last through the end of the month.
Murder trial pending
Separately, three men, including Young, are set to go to trial later this year in connection with Vega’s death.
If Young is convicted in that case, prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Read more Couple arrested after rare bottle of liquor stolen from Tempe restaurant