Court documents show that the Arizona man accused of robbing exotic dancers at gunpoint and later killing one of them repeatedly reversed his stance on plea agreements in the earlier robbery cases.
In 2021, prosecutors offered Cudjoe Young, 29, a deal to plead guilty to disorderly conduct and serve 2½ years in prison with probation. He initially declined, later told prosecutors he would accept, then rejected the offer again in court. Young faces up to 36 years for armed robbery in October 2020 and attempted armed robbery the following month.
Young is also charged, along with two co-defendants, in the April 2023 killing of Mercedes Vega, one of the robbery victims. Vega, 22, was found beaten, burned, and shot in an abandoned car on Interstate 10 outside Phoenix on the day she was due to testify in the robbery case. Her family believes she was killed to silence her.
The pretrial statement shows Young rejected three plea deals between August 2021 and December 2024. One would have reduced charges to attempted armed robbery with a 3½-year maximum sentence, which Young initially accepted before changing his mind. Another offer — two counts of aggravated assault in exchange for 7½ years — was also refused.
Vega’s parents have criticized delays in the robbery trials, saying she might still be alive if the process had moved faster and she had better protection. Trial for the robbery cases was postponed again last month after Young sought to remove his attorney.
Police say Young targeted dancers from a Phoenix strip club between November 2019 and November 2020. Vega moved to Tempe after being robbed, but was abducted from her new apartment garage on April 16, 2023. Authorities say fingerprints link Young’s co-defendants to the murder scene, and evidence suggests he arranged travel and logistics for them.
Young has pleaded not guilty in both the robbery and murder cases, which remain ongoing.
