PHOENIX — The man accused of murdering a Phoenix woman in 2023 has been convicted of robbing her at gunpoint years earlier.
Cudjoe Young is accused of robbing Mercedes Vega at gunpoint in 2020, years before being charged for her death.
Prosecutors say Young robbed Vega at gunpoint outside her Phoenix apartment in 2020, three years before she was murdered. While Young is one of three men charged with her death, this robbery trial is being handled separately.
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According to prosecutors, Vega identified Young to police before her 2023 murder. The state believes Young murdered Vega to keep her from testifying against him in the robbery case.
Body-cam video, cell phone data, Cash App records and surveillance footage were all presented as evidence.
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Young’s attorneys have argued his innocence.