Teen sentenced for fatally shooting SIUE nursing student at highway interchange
A teenager received a 29-year sentence Wednesday for fatally shooting a Southern Illinois University Edwardsville student at a highway interchange in January 2021.
Jacob Godoy, 19, of Woodson Terrace, Missouri, had previously pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the killing of Moneer Damra, who dreamed of becoming a nurse in the U.S. Army, according to a news release Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine.
“Damra, 27, was a passenger in a vehicle that came under gunfire from another vehicle at Illinois 157 and Interstate 270,” the release stated. “Police have described the shooting as a random act of violence. There was no clear motive; the occupants of the suspect vehicle had no known connection to the occupants of the other vehicle.”
Godoy, who was 16 at the time of the murder, was identified as the shooter, according to the news release.
Damra, of Chicago, was a nursing student in the university’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps. The shooting occurred on Jan. 14, 2021, and Damra died on Jan. 27, 2021.
A sister of Moneer Damra told Associate Judge Neil Schroeder that her brother overcame a number of obstacles, such as being homeless at one point in their youths, and that she forgives Godoy, the new release stated.
“In honor of the loving, joyful and brave life my brother cultivated, I hope you are afforded the opportunity to change your life and find a path of purpose,” she said.
Haine praised Damra for his accomplishments.
“He made a selfless decision to help others and serve his country,” Haine said in his statement. “By every account, Moneer Damra already had an incredible impact on the lives of so many people and held tremendous potential for even greater achievements.”
A murder charge is pending against a co-defendant, Jimmy Ortiz of Hazelwood, Missouri.
