On a warm Labor Day evening in North Las Vegas, a hardworking family man's life was tragically cut short in a senseless act of violence. Jorge Godoy-Lua, a 43-year-old man who had immigrated from Mexico to build a better life for his family, was shot and killed on September 6, 2021. He was known for his love of taking walks, a simple pleasure he often enjoyed. That evening, while out for a walk near Cheyenne Avenue and Civic Center Drive, he became the victim of a man on a violent spree.
The Clark County coroner's office would later confirm that Godoy-Lua died from gunshot wounds to the back, and his death was officially ruled a homicide. Remembered by his loved ones and neighbors as an optimistic and kind person who took great pride in his roofing work, his sudden death left his family, including his teenage children, devastated.
The string of violence that claimed Jorge Godoy-Lua's life did not end with him. Within a span of just two hours, two other men, 53-year-old Oliver Hillman and 27-year-old Michael Myers, were also shot and killed in the same area. The randomness of the killings spread fear through the community. North Las Vegas police quickly launched an investigation, utilizing witness statements and surveillance video that showed a man calmly walking the streets and shooting his victims. Their investigation led them to a suspect identified as 35-year-old Tristan Tidwell.
Tristan Tidwell was arrested the day after the shootings and faced multiple charges, including three counts of open murder with a deadly weapon. During his confession to the police, Tidwell, who was homeless, provided a disturbing motive for his actions. He claimed he believed his victims were also homeless and that anything without a home needed to be "terminated" or "put down." This justification was tragically misguided, as friends and family confirmed that at least two of the victims, Godoy-Lua and Myers, were not homeless. Godoy-Lua was a dedicated roofer and family man, and Myers was a father of four who had just stepped out to buy snacks for his children. Tidwell acknowledged to investigators that his actions were against the law but chillingly stated, "But it had to be done."
In January 2023, Tristan Tidwell pleaded guilty but mentally ill to three counts of murder with a deadly weapon, a plea that spared him the death penalty. Two months later, in March 2023, a judge sentenced him to three consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole. During the sentencing, Jorge Godoy-Lua's family filled the courtroom, wearing shirts bearing his picture. His son spoke of his father as a happy man who loved to help people and stated that while his father would not wish harm on anyone, he could never forgive the man who took his life.
