{"id":243,"date":"2026-05-12T16:45:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T16:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=243"},"modified":"2026-05-12T16:45:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T16:45:03","slug":"opening-statements-to-begin-in-robbery-case-connected-to-murder-of-mercedes-vega-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=243","title":{"rendered":"Opening statements to begin in robbery case connected to murder of Mercedes Vega"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>PHOENIX \u2014 Opening statements are set to begin May 12 in an armed robbery case connected to the murder of a 19-year-old Arizona woman in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=242\">Arizona teacher picked for national STEM training program<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Cudjoe Young is accused of robbing Mercedes Vega in 2018, just two years before she was murdered. Young is one of the people accused of Vega&#8217;s murder, as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Vega was 19 years old when she was robbed in the parking lot of her Phoenix apartment complex in October of 2020 as she was coming home from work at a club, records show. A man wearing a mask and gloves pointed a gun at her before taking her phone and bag containing money. Vega helped investigators identify the suspect in that case as Young.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>A state document says Vega was killed to prevent her cooperation with that law enforcement investigation, to prevent her testimony in a court proceeding, or retaliation for her cooperation with an official law enforcement investigation.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The robbery trial has also been delayed more than a dozen times.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>After filing numerous motions, changing attorneys, and even at one point claiming he was going to represent himself, the trial has been delayed 19 times in total, according to previous 12News reporting.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong><u>Watch 12News+ for free\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere, thanks to the 12News+ app!\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The free\u00a012News+\u00a0app from 12News lets users stream live events \u2014 including daily newscasts like &#8220;Today in AZ&#8221; and &#8220;12 News&#8221; and our daily lifestyle program, &#8220;Arizona Midday&#8221;\u2014on\u00a0Roku and\u00a0Amazon Fire TV.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=240\">Tiger Woods\u2019 lawyer and prosecutors are set to argue over prescription records in DUI case<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>12News+\u00a0 showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Roku:\u00a0Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for &#8220;12 News KPNX.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Amazon Fire TV: Search for &#8220;12 News KPNX&#8221; to\u00a0find the free 12News+ app to add to your account, or have the 12News+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong><u>Up to Speed<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=238\">\u2018This is your time\u2019: Harrison Ford speaks to record ASU graduating class<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PHOENIX \u2014 Opening statements are set to begin May 12 in an armed robbery case connected to the murder of a 19-year-old Arizona woman in 2020. Read more Arizona teacher picked for national STEM training program Cudjoe Young is accused of robbing Mercedes Vega in 2018, just two years before she was murdered. Young is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Opening statements to begin in robbery case connected to murder of Mercedes Vega - Scottsdale Moving Hub<\/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:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=243\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Opening statements to begin in robbery case connected to murder of Mercedes Vega - Scottsdale Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"PHOENIX \u2014 Opening statements are set to begin May 12 in an armed robbery case connected to the murder of a 19-year-old Arizona woman in 2020. 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