Man involved in attack on NMSU basketball player will appear again in NM Court

A former University of New Mexico student involved in an attack on a New Mexico State University basketball player that left one student dead and another injured will appear in a New Mexico court after a probation violation in Maryland.

Eli-Sha Upshaw, 21, has been charged with two counts of assault, as well as reckless endangerment and false imprisonment, according to a criminal complaint filed in Maryland District Court. Upshaw was also found with alcohol, drug paraphernalia and a handgun, all in violation of his probation conditions.

Upshaw was sentenced to 4½ years of supervised probation in June for his involvement in a planned attack on NMSU basketball player Mike Peake.

Early on the morning of Nov. 19, 2022, Peake shot and killed University of New Mexico student Brandon Travis, 19, after Peake was lured to campus by a female student, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. No charges were filed against Peake after prosecutors determined that he had acted in self-defense.

Upshaw was one of several freshmen who orchestrated the attack on Peake, according to the complaint, in an apparent retaliation for a fight that broke out at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces during a UNM-NMSU football game a month prior.

Students Jonathan Smith, 21, and Mya Hill, who was 17 at the time of the incident, also were sentenced to probation in the case.

When Peake arrived at a UNM dormitory, he thought he would be meeting Hill, and instead was met by Travis, Upshaw and Smith.

Travis shot Peake in the leg and Peake returned fire, killing Travis, and the highly anticipated Aggie-Lobo rivalry game at the Pit, scheduled for that night, was canceled.

Less than a month after Upshaw was sentenced, police say he was involved in another incident in Gaithersburg, Maryland. According to the criminal complaint:

On July 19, just past 8:30 p.m., police responded to a call about an assault. There they found a man beaten nearby his vehicle who said he had been attacked by Upshaw.

The man told police that he was meeting Upshaw near Upshaw’s apartment to discuss money from a stolen debit card. The man picked up Upshaw in his vehicle, who then pulled a gun on him and told him to keep driving.

The man crashed the car into a parked truck, and a struggle ensued. Upshaw hit the man on the back of the head with a handgun while calling for backup.

A second unidentified man arrived at the scene and began punching the man alongside Upshaw.

The victim showed police Upshaw’s Instagram account, where the two had been messaging, which led to his identification and arrest. The complaint did not detail if the second man involved in the attack had been apprehended.

Upshaw is being held in Montgomery County Correctional facility, though he is due to appear in New Mexico District Court on Wednesday.