Attorney weighs in on potential self-defense argument in UNM shooting

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico State basketball player Michael Peake is still not facing charges. Investigators said he was lured to campus by a group of UNM students, looking for revenge after an earlier fight.

Peake allegedly shot and killed one of those UNM students after the attack began.

Defense attorney Ahmad Assed said he’d be surprised if Peake did not file a self-defense claim.

Peake was in town for the Rio Grande Rivalry game at The Pit that never happened.

Investigators said he showed up to UNM campus in the early hours of Saturday morning to meet up with a 17-year-old girl charged in this case. The girl was allegedly part of a scheme to jump Peake as revenge for a fight that broke out at the UNM-NMSU football game earlier this year.

According to New Mexico State Police, 19-year-old Brandon Travis pulled a gun and shot Peake while another UNM student hit him in the leg with a baseball bat. Peake allegedly fired back with his own gun while running away, hitting and killing Brandon Travis.

“Referring to Mr. Peake, not only was he threatened with and shot at with a gun, but he was also, according to the reports, hit with a bat and that in and of itself is a deadly weapon,” Assed said. “So he had – he had absolute, extraordinary basis to feel that his life was threatened and getting shot at while he was running is certainly the culmination of all those facts – clearly giving Mr. Peake an opportunity to claim self-defense.”

Assed said the only thing he would like to know more about is what Peake’s intentions were with the gun – but as long as he was carrying it legally, he doesn’t see any charges coming from the gun.

At this point, Peake has not been charged in this case. According to the district attorney’s office, there is still outstanding evidence and reports that need to be reviewed before they can comment on a potential defense claim.