Details Emerge Concerning Peake, NMSU Coaches in New Mexico Shooting Report

Mike Peake shot and killed a 19-year-old after he was allegedly struck with a baseball bat and the deceased shot at the NMSU player.

Editors’ note: This story contains details of gun violence.

In wake of the shooting that occurred on New Mexico University’s campus last month, a detective pulled over the bus bringing home the New Mexico State men’s basketball team as it was discovered that evidence was onboard, according to a Monday report from KOAT, a TV station in Albuquerque. 

The state police reportedly found the gun used in the shooting with an assistant coach at a hotel as well as the tablet of Mike Peake, a junior forward for New Mexico State, on the team’s bus, and his cellphone in the possession of a school administrator. Peake was a part of the Nov. 19 shooting that left one person dead. 

According to KOAT, Peake skipped his curfew to meet a 17-year-old girl he “wanted to have sex with in a UNM dorm.” However, she was not the only person apparently waiting for him. Per court records obtained by KOAT, three male students and the young woman planned “to lure him there as part of a planned revenge beating,” the outlet wrote. An incident had occurred between Peake and the other men several weeks before at a football game. 

The police report, obtained by KOAT, detailed how one person struck Peake with a baseball bat while Brandon Travis shot the NMSU player. As Peake tried to get away, he shot the 19-year-old four times. Travis died at the scene. 

Both the young woman and one of the men were charged in connection with the beating. 

Following the shooting that left Peake with a wound in his leg, he met several of his teammates and placed items in the trunk of a car, per KOAT. The three players, per the report, are Issa Muhammad, Marchelus Avery and Anthony Roy. When the police went to question the players, coach Greg Heiar not only denied knowing where the gun and tablet were, but also said he needed to speak with NMSU’s athletic director to see whether Muhammad, Avery and Roy needed to hire lawyers, per KOAT. 

As police tried to follow up for updates hours later, the calls reportedly went to voicemail. One of the detectives then turned on his siren and went hunting for the bus on the highway. Per KOAT, assistant coach Lorenzo Jenkins was the one who turned over Peake’s tablet. 

Peake was suspended indefinitely this week, but, per the Las Cruces Sun-News, the decision was made earlier. The team opted not to wait to make it public as the basketball player continues to recover from the gunshot wound. He shared on social media that he has endured three surgeries. Peake has not been charged with a crime. 

Heiar said after Monday’s game that he would not comment on the ongoing investigation, but when asked whether the team would be traveling to the next game, he said, “We leave [Tuesday] morning.” When pressed on whether all coaches would be in attendance, Heiar didn’t hesitate with his response: “Yes.”