LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — The New Mexico Supreme Court upheld a child abuse conviction on Monday of a Las Cruces man who was found guilty of killing a two-year-old girl in 2018.

In 2023, a jury found Lalo Castrillo guilty of abusing two-year-old Faviola Rodriguez to death. Rodriguez was left in Castrillo’s care by the toddler’s mother, Saundra Gonzales, who had left for work. An autopsy revealed that Rodriguez sustained blunt-force trauma to her head and body.

According to the state Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday, it unanimously rejected arguments made by Castrillo that there was not enough evidence for the jury to find that he caused the death of Rodriguez.

Castrillo had requested that the district court grant him a new trial based on newly discovered evidence, a photo the child’s mother posted on social media after the trial, which showed the child with a bruise on her head.

At a hearing on the request, the justices noted that the photo in question was taken six months before the child’s death

“Because the photo was taken months before both Victim’s death and the two earlier injuries Defendant claims caused her death, we conclude that the evidence was not material and therefore that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Defendant’s motion for a new trial,” the Court wrote.

As a result, the state Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Castrillo for intentional child abuse resulting in the death of Rodriguez and denied the request for a new trial.

During the 2023 trial, a doctor with the office of the medical investigator testified that a combination of blunt injuries to the head caused Rodriguez’s death.

“Here, the State presented medical evidence such that a reasonable juror could find that the acute blunt force injuries Victim suffered were inflicted while she was in Defendant’s exclusive care and that the injuries were not accidental,” the Court stated in the decision written by Justice Briana H. Zamora. “Two witnesses testified that on the day she was injured, Victim had no visible bruises or other signs of injury before she was left alone with Defendant.”

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Damon Bankston, RB

Height: 5’ 10 ⅜”
Weight: 196 lbs
Class: Fifth-year Senior
School: New Mexico
Hands: 9 ½”
Arm Length: 30 ⅞”
Wingspan: 72 ⅝”
40-Yard Dash: 4.44 seconds
Bench Press: 21 reps
Vertical: 33”
Broad Jump: 10’ 3”
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.32 seconds
3-Cone: 6.89  seconds
STATS

Damon Bankston was an unranked running back recruit from Katy Paetow in Katy, Texas, who enrolled at Weber State, an FCS school in Ogden, Utah.

Bankston would stay at Weber State from 2021 to 2024 before transferring to New Mexico for his final season of college football in 2025.

As a redshirt senior, Bankston would rack up 635 rushing yards, 397 receiving yards, and 8 scrimmage touchdowns, as well as another 434 kick return yards and two touchdowns on just 12 returns.

Strengths

• Explosive athlete with elite acceleration
• Soft, natural hands as a pass-catcher out of the backfield 
• Solid vision when operating in zone run schemes
• Usually a patient runner before accelerating through gaps
• Plays very quick as a runner with a bit of a choppy style
• Eliminates tackle angles with acceleration
• Can make defenders miss in space with a solid juke move
• Kick return specialist with two return touchdowns in 2025
• Willing as a pass protector in the backfield

Weaknesses

• Likely won’t be able to survive through contact often against NFL-caliber defenders
• Questionable ability to run between the tackles at the next level
• Not necessarily a weakness but only one year of FBS film, not sure how he’ll adapt to NFL game speed
• Questionable size to succeed in pass protection
• Ball security was an issue for him in 2025, including two fumbles in one game against Colorado State
• Play strength is a concern with contact balance, ball security, pass protection, and the ability to be an all-around back

Summary

Bankston will at best be a change-of-pace back in the NFL who never handles a significant workload.

Carving out a role as a return specialist should be the goal for Bankston to make the roster in 2026, which will also be a tall task for him to solidify with Deonte Banks back for the Giants in 2026.

Bankston, who at this point is probably more of a practice squad candidate, can definitely provide some juice on special teams as a kickoff returner. In college he averaged 36.2 yards per return and had two returns for touchdown, showing some explosiveness.

The step up in competition from the FCS to FBS for Bankston caused him to be less consistent with creating yards after contact and making defenders miss.

It’s fair to estimate that with another step up in competition, Bankston could once again see a decrease in that ability to create.

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