St. Louis teen pleads guilty in slaying of Southern IL University Edwardsville student
A St. Louis teenager has pleaded guilty in the shooting death of an SIUE student who was shot while in a vehicle near the college campus, the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
Jacob Godoy, 17, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder for the January 2021 slaying of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville student Moneer Damra, the prosecutor’s office said.
Damra, 27, of Chicago, was a nursing student in the university’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps. He planned to become a U.S. Army nurse.
On the evening of Jan. 14, 2021, Damra was a passenger in a vehicle on Interstate 270 and Illinois 157 in Edwardsville when he was struck by gunfire, Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine said in a news release.
Damra was taken to a local hospital and died Jan. 27, 2021, as a result of his injuries.
A university news release called it a “random act of gun violence.”
“The Defendant turned the streets of Madison County into a shooting gallery that evening, and took the life of a wonderful young man, senselessly and brutally,” Haine said in a statement.
Haine said the first-degree murder charge has a sentencing range of 20 to 60 years in prison, with an addition 25 years to life sentence with the potential firearms enhancement.
Another person charged in the case, Jimmy Ortiz, 20, of St. Louis, remains in the Madison County Jail and his case is pending, Haine said.
This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 4:22 PM.
