Man pleads guilty for his role in deadly UNM shooting
Apr. 19—A man involved in a deadly attack on a former New Mexico State University basketball player in 2022 pleaded guilty to two felonies this week for his role in the incident.
Eli-Sha Upshaw, 20, pleaded guilty Thursday in 2nd Judicial District Court to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery.
Upshaw faces up to 4 1/2 years in prison at a sentencing hearing scheduled for June 25 before Judge Britt Baca-Miller, according to his plea agreement.
Former Aggie player Mike Peake shot and killed a University of New Mexico student, Brandon Travis, 19, after Peake was lured to the UNM campus by a female student, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
Police said Travis shot Peake in the leg and Peake returned fire, killing Travis during the Nov. 19, 2022, attack.
No charges were filed against Peake after prosecutors determined that he had acted in self-defense.
Police said Travis and Upshaw were among a group of UNM freshmen who hatched a plan to lure Peake to the UNM campus in revenge for a beating during a fight at the Lobos-Aggies football game in Las Cruces earlier that fall.
The female student, Mya Hill, who was 17 at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty in August to aggravated battery and was sentenced to probation until age 21, the 2nd Judicial District Attorney's Office said.
Jonathan Smith, 21, pleaded guilty in January 2023 to aggravated battery and tampering with evidence for his role in the plan, court records show. He is scheduled for sentencing on June 25, also before Judge Baca-Miller.
