Madison County Associate Judge Neil Schroeder sentenced a Missouri teen to 29 years in prison for killing Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville student Moneer Damra during a drive-by shooting in Edwardsville in January 2021.
Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine announced the sentencing of Jacob Godoy, now 19, of Woodson Terrace, Mo. on Wednesday. Godoy was also sentenced to three years of mandatory supervised release.
During the sentencing hearing, Assistant State’s Attorney Luke Yager asked Schroeder to impose a 55-year prison sentence on Godoy.
Schroeder said opinions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court and Illinois Supreme Court regarding “de facto life sentences” for young offenders meant the sentencing range in this case was 20 to 40 years in prison. Godoy was 16 years old at the time of the killing.
Damra was a nursing student and ROTC cadet. His goal was to become an Army nurse.
An Army lieutenant who studied nursing with Damra submitted a victim-impact statement, which stated that Damra held a 4.0 grade-point-average and his murder “denied the United States Army of one of the best officers they would have ever had.”
Damra's sister also gave a victim-impact statement in court. She said her brother overcame a number of obstacles and was even homeless at one point in their youth. She said she forgives her brother's killer.
"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 said, "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. He made a selfless decision to help others and serve his country. I pray that this conviction and sentence will continue the healing process for his family and loved ones, as well as the SIUE community and the ROTC program."
On the night he was killed, Damra was riding as a passenger at Illinois 157 and Interstate 270 near the SIUE campus when the vehicle came under gunfire from another vehicle. Haine reports that there was no clear motive for the shooting. The occupants of the suspect vehicle had no known connection to the occupants of the vehicle Damra was riding in.
Godoy pleaded guilty to a count of first degree murder.
A co-defendant, Jimmy Oritz of Hazelwood, Mo., has also been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Damra. He was 19 at the time of the shooting. His case remains pending.
Haine commended Yager for his work on prosecuting the case, along with the Illinois State Police, ISP Crime Lab, Glen Carbon Police, SIUE Police and other agences that assisted in the investigation.