Suspect in attack on NMSU athlete changes plea
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — One of the UNM students who was allegedly involved in an attack on an NMSU basketball player changed his plea Thursday.
Eli-Sha Upshaw pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and conspiracy charges Thursday afternoon. Upshaw is accused of plotting to lure NMSU basketball player Mike Peake to campus while he was in town for the Rio Grande Rivalry game in December 2022.
Peake thought he was meeting a girl but a group of students planned to attack him.
That resulted in a shootout that left Peake injured. The shootout also left 19-year-old UNM student Brandon Travis dead.
Upshaw is accused of playing a role in this. He pleaded not guilty last year. Since a judge granted him pretrial release, he has been in Maryland with his mother.
Upshaw could spend 4 1/2 years behind bars, but no sentencing date has been set at this time.
Jonathan Smith, one of the other suspects in the attack, took a plea deal last year.
The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office did not file charges against Peake. NMSU, however, indefinitely suspended Peake.
MORE: