{"id":216,"date":"2026-05-13T10:03:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=216"},"modified":"2026-05-13T10:03:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:03:35","slug":"armed-robbery-trial-opens-in-case-tied-to-mercedes-vega-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=216","title":{"rendered":"Armed robbery trial opens in case tied to Mercedes Vega murder"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 Opening statements began Tuesday in a 2020 armed robbery trial connected to one of the Valley\u2019s most high-profile murder cases.<\/p>\n

Read more One killed in three-vehicle crash near Kolb, Escalante in Tucson<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors say Vega was the victim of an armed robbery and was later murdered so she couldn\u2019t testify. Tuesday, the case went to trial without her testimony.<\/p>\n

Prosecution outlines case against defendant<\/h2>\n

\u201cHe came at me with a gun. He told me to unlock my phone and give my phone to him, and he took my bag,\u201d prosecutor Jennifer Linn said as she laid out her case against defendant Cudjoe Young.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s account.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did he know I was going to be coming home at this time? He had to be following me,\u201d Vega said in the video.<\/p>\n

Vega picked Young out of a photo lineup and was set to testify against him at trial, investigators said.<\/p>\n

In court, prosecutors also showed surveillance video from another robbery one month later involving another victim, Reese Pettyford.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told her, \u2018Don\u2019t say a word or I\u2019ll kill you both,\u2019\u201d Linn said.<\/p>\n

Video shows the moment a neighbor came to Pettyford\u2019s rescue after a masked man hiding in her Scottsdale parking garage held her at gunpoint.<\/p>\n

Similarities between two robberies<\/h2>\n

\u201cWe ask you to pay close attention to the similarities between what happened to Mercedes and what happened to Reese,\u201d Linn said.<\/p>\n

Read more Authorities looking for person of interest in Pima County homicide<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Defense challenges identification<\/h2>\n

\u201cMiss 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,\u201d Candance Shoemaker, Young\u2019s defense attorney, said.<\/p>\n

The defense kept its argument simple Tuesday, arguing investigators can\u2019t prove Young was the gunman.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t the guy with the gun,\u201d the defense said.<\/p>\n

Young has pleaded not guilty to armed robbery and attempted armed robbery charges. He and two other defendants also face charges in Mercedes Vega\u2019s murder case.<\/p>\n

The trial is expected to last through the end of the month.<\/p>\n

Murder trial pending<\/h2>\n

Separately, three men, including Young, are set to go to trial later this year in connection with Vega\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

If Young is convicted in that case, prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty.<\/p>\n

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? <\/i>Please click here to report it<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send <\/i>it to us here<\/i> with a brief description.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Couple arrested after rare bottle of liquor stolen from Tempe restaurant<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Opening statements are underway in an armed robbery trial tied to one of the Valley\u2019s most talked-about murder cases. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nArmed robbery trial opens in case tied to Mercedes Vega murder - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=216\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Armed robbery trial opens in case tied to Mercedes Vega murder - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Opening statements are underway in an armed robbery trial tied to one of the Valley\u2019s most talked-about murder cases.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=216\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-13T10:03:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=216#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=216\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"Armed robbery trial opens in case tied to Mercedes Vega murder\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-13T10:03:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=216\"},\"wordCount\":540,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=216#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/90beaabf18df22488743b20441dfc9a6.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=216#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=216\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=216\",\"name\":\"Armed robbery trial opens in case tied to Mercedes Vega murder - 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