3rd suspect in Mercedes Vega murder case extradited to Maricopa County

PHOENIX — The third suspect charged in the killing of 22-year-old Mercedes Vega in 2023 was extradited and booked into jail in Maricopa County on Thursday, authorities said.

Jared Gray is being held on charges of first-degree murder, hindering prosecution, theft, armed robbery, arson and kidnapping, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO).

He was in custody in Georgia in relation to a separate criminal matter, according to ABC15.

Prosecutors submitted charges against Gray in June 2025 after evidence found at the scene of Vega’s murder linked him to the crime, according to court documents.

He is the third man to be charged in connection with Vega’s death. Prosecutors announced in December 2025 that they would seek the death penalty against the other two suspects, 23-year-old Sencere Hayes and 29-year-old Cudjoe Young.

What do we know about the murder of Mercedes Vega?

Vega’s body was found in a burning vehicle off Interstate 10 near Tonopah on April 17, 2023. Her car was later found across the Valley near Mill Avenue in Tempe, where she lived.

The medical examiner’s report said Vega’s cause of death was smoke inhalation and burns, but noted that there were signs of blunt force trauma, a gunshot injury and bleach in her throat.

No arrests were made in the case until November 2024, when Hayes was arrested in Hamilton County, Tennessee.

Investigators believe Hayes and Gray flew together to Arizona in March 2023, and then left Arizona together to go back to Tennessee the day after Vega’s murder.

Young was reportedly identified as the owner of the credit card used to purchase the plane tickets for Hayes and Gray.

Gray initially told investigators he had traveled to Arizona for “business,” but did not provide any further details and denied knowing Hayes or Young. Later, he said he knew Young from Tennessee, which is where all three men are originally from, according to ABC15.

Young allegedly robbed Vega at gunpoint in 2020, and she later identified him out of a lineup and prepared a victim’s impact statement, according to the Phoenix TV station.

Vega’s mother, Erika Pillsbury, told KTAR News 92.3 FM in 2024 that she mentioned to MCSO that the robbery and her daughter’s death could potentially be connected.

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