On Tuesday, June 25, 2024, a judge sentenced Eli-Sha Upshaw (photo on left) to 4.5 years of supervised probation. The state had requested three years of incarceration.
On the same day, Jonathan Smith (photo on right) received a sentence of 3 years of supervised probation. Smith had cooperated with the investigation. Upshaw and Smith participated in the 2022 incident that ultimately led to the shooting death of a University of New Mexico (UNM) student, Brandon Travis. Neither Smith nor Upshaw were the actual shooters.
In November of 2022, Smith, Upshaw, Travis, and a 17-year-old female allegedly planned an attack on New Mexico State University (NMSU) basketball player Mike Peake. This was in retaliation for a fight that had broken out during a UNM/NMSU football game in Las Cruces in October of 2022. Police bodycam footage captured Peak and Travis involved in a fight at the UNM/NMSU football game.
Recapping the 2022 Fatal Shooting at UNM
On November 19, 2022, an early morning shootout on the UNM campus left one person dead and another wounded.
NMSP investigators discovered that around 3:00 AM, an altercation occurred between four UNM students and Mike Peake, a 21-year-old NMSU basketball player. Peake was in town for the NMSU/UNM rivalry basketball game. During the altercation, two individuals sustained gunshot wounds.
Through their investigation, the NMSP later learned that Travis had conspired with Mya Hill, a 17-year-old female, and two of his male friends, Upshaw and Smith. Together, they allegedly plotted to lure Peake to the UNM campus and assault him.
Once Peake was on campus, a fight ensued. Upshaw purportedly struck Peake twice with a bat. Peake then fled, but Travis pursued him, reportedly firing multiple gunshots at Peake. Peake, who had his own firearm, returned fire, hitting Travis. Travis then supposedly returned fire again, hitting Peake in the leg.
The Office of the Medical Investigator pronounced UNM student Brandon Travis, 19, dead at the scene. Peake suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, and was taken to a local hospital where he required several surgeries. According to the autopsy report, Travis was shot four times.
After the shooting, Smith, Upshaw, and Hill fled the scene. Smith and Upshaw were reportedly seen changing and discarding their clothes in a sewer drain before returning. Authorities eventually apprehended, arrested, and booked Hill into the juvenile detention center.
DA Clears Peake, Juvenile Co-Conspirator Sentenced to Probation
On May 22nd, 2023, the Bernalillo District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that “the decision to not charge Mike Peake was made by the prior administration based on all the facts and evidence presented to them.” They went on to say “it was determined Peake acted in self-defense.”
The team indefinitely suspended Peake on November 29, 2022. Peake entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.
In August of 2023, Mya Hill, who was a juvenile at the time of the incident, also agreed to a plea deal for her role in luring Peake onto the UNM campus. The court sentenced Hill to three years of probation and entered her plea deal in juvenile court.
You can read our previous stories on this HERE and HERE and HERE.
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