Police charge UNM student in connection to Nov. 19 shooting in Albuquerque

LAS CRUCES - A third University of New Mexico student has been charged in connection to the deadly shootout last month that involved New Mexico State basketball player Mike Peake.

Eli'sha Upshaw was arrested and charged Friday on two counts of aggravated battery, conspiracy and tampering with evidence for his involvement of the plot that lured Peake to the UNM campus in the early morning hours of Nov. 19.

Upshaw is currently being held in jail without bond. Court records show he's scheduled for a first appearance in a Bernalillo Metro Court on Monday. Albuquerque prosecutors could request that a judge order Upshaw to continue to be held in jail without bond.

To do this, prosecutors must prove that Upshaw is a danger to the public and that no bond could ensure the public's safety. A judge denied prosecutors' request to hold alleged co-conspirator Jonathan Smith in November, saying prosecutors failed to prove that the bond was insufficient to protect the public.

Police believe Upshaw conspired with fellow UNM students Brandon Travis, Mya Hill and Smith to lure Peake to the UNM campus on Nov. 19 in retaliation for a fight that involved Peake and Travis at the Oct. 15 football game between New Mexico and New Mexico State at Aggie Memorial Stadium.

Peake was in Albuquerque for a UNM-NMSU basketball game that was to take place the afternoon of Nov. 19. The home-and-home series between the teams was later canceled.

Hill, a 17-year-old college student, is accused of luring Peake to campus in the early hours of Nov. 19.

About 3 a.m., surveillance cameras in the parking lot of the Coronado Hall complex, show Peake and Hill walking outside the dormitory. According to the complaint, Travis, Upshaw and Smith approach them from behind. Travis points a gun at Peake, and Upshaw hits Peake once in the right leg with a baseball bat and again in the abdomen before Peake started to run.

Travis follows Peake with a gun pointed at him while Peake takes out his own gun and the two begin shooting at one another. Police say Travis fired "several times" and Peake fired back. Travis, 19, is killed in the shootout and Peake, 21, is shot in the leg.

Following the shooting, Smith and Upshaw called 911, pushed the campus help button and fled the scene, according to the complaint. Smith and Upshaw changed their clothes in Upshaw's room. They drove back to the scene in Smith's vehicle to retrieve Smith's phone and threw their clothes in the sewer in the Lobo Village complex before returning to the scene and blending into the crowd.

While both firearms were recovered, it's unclear if the bat has been recovered by police.

Hill and Smith were arrested and charged within days of the shooting.

Peake has not been charged. He has been suspended from the team indefinitely.

Investigators interview Upshaw

New Mexico State Police, which are leading the investigation, interviewed Upshaw on Nov. 19 inside a meeting room within a UNM dormitory.

Police learn from Upshaw that he knows Travis and that both were involved in the Oct. 15 fight at Aggie Memorial Stadium.

"I saw Brandon getting kicked," Upshaw tells investigators on body cam footage. "I helped my friend. I messed up my hand pretty bad and got my nose broke. We were all pretty upset about it. … as anyone would be if they got jumped over a girl, which I found out after the fact. … Some girl that goes to State that one of my boys was cuddled with."

Upshaw tells investigators that he didn't know about the shooting until after it happened and that he was in his dorm room with two females at the time of the shootout.

A state police investigator tells Upshaw, "Kind of what we are getting at is we know two other people were with (Travis) and we are trying to find out who those people are. … We are going to find out who they are at some point. … If you were with (Travis) last night when this went down, that is something we need to know."

When asked by investigators on a scale of 1 to 10, where would he rate his honesty, Upshaw said, "10."

Investigators would contact Upshaw for a second interview at the UNM Police Department. Upshaw turned over his phone but ultimately rejected a second interview at the time.

Jason Groves can be reached at jgroves@lcsun-news.com or @jpgroves on Twitter. Justin Garcia can be reached at jegarcia@lcsun-news.com or @just516garc on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Police charge UNM student in connection to Nov. 19 shooting in Albuquerque