GOLDEN, Colo. (Mar. 31, 2023) – this morning, a Jefferson County jury returned guilty verdicts in the trial of Marqueil Banks for the murders of eighteen-year-old Damian Wikoff and seventeen-year-old Dillon Wikoff in Lakewood in 2020. Banks is the final of four juveniles to be convicted for the murders. Two juveniles were tried as adults, and two remained in juvenile court.
The investigation by agents from the Lakewood Police Department revealed that on Aug. 23, 2020, Damien and Dillon arranged to sell a homemade ‘ghost gun’ assembled from a kit they purchased online, as well as trade for another gun. Instead, co-defendant Michael Mendoza recruited a group of juveniles to rob the brothers. During the robbery, Damien and Dillon were shot and killed by Banks.
Banks was convicted of:
Count 1: MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE (After Deliberation – Damian Wikoff)
Count 2: MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE (After Deliberation – Dillon Wikoff)
Count 3: MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE (Felony Murder – Damian Wikoff)
Count 4: MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE (Felony Murder – Dillon Wikoff)
Count 5: AGGRAVATED ROBBERY (Wound, Strike)
Count 6: AGGRAVATED ROBBERY (Kill, Maim, or Wound)
Banks will be sentenced on May 5, 2023, at 8:30 a.m.
Mendoza pled guilty on Jan. 31, 2022, to Aggravated Robbery (F3) and Manslaughter (F4). As a result of his plea, Mendoza faces 10-25 years in the Department of Corrections. Mendoza will be sentenced on Apr. 27, 2023, at 9 a.m.
In May 2021, a third juvenile, age 15 at the time of the crime, pled guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Robbery (F4) and received two years of Juvenile Intensive Supervised Probation.
In April 2022, a fourth juvenile, age 15 at the time of the crime, pled guilty to Murder in the First Degree (F1) and received four years in the Department of Youth Services.