Dancers at an Arizona club feared they were being targeted — and then one was killed

Mercedes Vega was found dead the day she was set to testify against the masked man she believed was tracking others at her club. He's now suspected in her killing.

Beginning six years ago, a series of armed robberies left dancers at a Phoenix strip club shaken.

In 2023, one of those dancers who was robbed — Mercedes Vega — was kidnapped and brutally murdered. She was found beaten, shot and burned in the back seat of a Chevrolet Malibu on a highway east of Phoenix. Bleach was poured down her throat, authorities said.

Her family thought the crimes were connected, and they waited more than two years for answers. Now, authorities believe that one of the suspects in Vega’s killing is the same man who was charged in her robbery case.

Vega had identified Cudjoe Young as the masked assailant who robbed her at gunpoint outside her Phoenix apartment building, according to a police report. He was charged with armed robbery, pleaded not guilty and was released on bond. His current and previous lawyers have declined to comment.

Vega was supposed to testify about the robbery at a court hearing scheduled for the day she was found dead, her mother said.