2 more people charged in connection to Mercedes Vega murder case

New documents show that officials have submitted charges against two more people in connection with the murder of 22-year-old Mercedes Vega.

BY ABC15.COM STAFF

Jun 25, 2025, 4:10 PM Updated: Jun 26, 2025, 11:57 am

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TONOPAH, AZ — New documents show that officials have submitted charges against two more people in connection with the murder of 22-year-old Mercedes Vega, who was found in a burning car off Interstate 10 near Tonopah in 2023. One of those people is a suspect in a previous case involving Vega.

ABC15 obtained court documents on Wednesday that say a new suspect, Jared Demarcus Gray, was linked by evidence to the scene where Vega was found dead.

Investigators believe Gray and another suspect, Sencere Hayes, who was previously arrested in connection with Vega’s murder, traveled to Arizona in March 2023 by plane. Gray and Hayes then left the state together, back to Tennessee, the day after Vega was found dead.

Cudjoe Young, who was identified by Vega as the suspect in a previous armed robbery case involving Vega, but not originally linked to her death, was identified as a user of the credit card that purchased plane tickets for Hayes and Gray.

Read the full story from ABC15 Arizona here.