You’re out on the street or in a parking lot, minding your own business, maybe heading to dinner with a family member, picking something up from the store or meeting someone for a first date, when suddenly an armed group of thugs walk up to rob or attack you. You’re scared. This is not what you planned and it’s a situation, even the most badass among us don’t want to find themselves in. But there’s nowhere to run. You have no choice but to defend yourself. You are legally carrying your own firearm. 

So, even with a gun pointed at you and shots being fired your direction, you may have even been hit, you manage to get your own gun out and return fire. Thankfully, your shots find their mark. The shooter crumples as the other attackers flee.

Now another onslaught occurs. Police and prosecutors come at you with questions. What happened? Why did you have a gun? Why did you feel you had to use it? Did you instigate the situation? Did you need to shoot? Why didn’t you just call police?

Even with the physical threat removed, you now face a very real legal threat, one that can land you in jail if you were wrong in your actions or have a bad lawyer. Even if you avoid jail, it’s a situation that can potentially leave you financially crushed trying to defend yourself.

But then the district attorney announces, after thorough investigation, there will be no charges. What is most likely the most traumatizing situation you will hopefully ever experience is behind you now. Or is it? You forget civil court. And in the United States, it seems no matter what the case, no matter who is really right or wrong, someone always sues.

And that’s exactly what is happening in New Mexico in the self-defense case of New Mexico State University basketball player Mike Peake, who shot and killed Brandon Travis after Travis and two other men attacked Peake in a University of New Mexico parking lot in 2022.

No charges were filed against Peake after a lengthy investigation by police, but Travis’s family want someone to pay. Even though their son instigated the matter as an act of revenge against Peake, which was proven in court and by video of the event, they feel they’ve been wronged.

But in an odd twist, they aren’t coming after Peake. He is or was, after all, just another broke college student. No, they are going after a place that has money, and who dollars to donuts, their attorney is sure will ultimately agree to a settlement that will get everyone paid. They are going after New Mexico State University and Peake’s former basketball coaches, Greg Heiar and Dominique Taylor.

“The Travis family seeks to hold NMSU accountable for its institutional failures, including the toxic, violent culture condoned by its administrators, that led to Brandon’s preventable and tragic passing,” one of the family’s attorneys told KOAT, a local ABC affiliate in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Shooting

The deadly encounter between Mike Peake and Brandon Travis was the culmination of escalating tensions that had been brewing for weeks according to a detailed report by Las Cruces Sun News. The following details of what played out come largely from that report. The animosity between the two groups began on October 15, 2022, during a brawl at the NMSU-UNM football game. This altercation, which involved Peake and other NMSU basketball players beating on Brandon Travis, set the stage for the later confrontation, and ultimately, the filing of the civil lawsuit against the university and coaches.

On the night of November 18, 2022, the NMSU basketball team was in Albuquerque for a game against the University of New Mexico. Peake was lured away from his team’s hotel by 17-year-old Mya Hill, who had been in contact with him under the guise of a romantic rendezvous. Unbeknownst to Peake, Hill was part of a setup orchestrated by Brandon Travis and two other UNM students, Jonathan Smith and Eli’sha Upshaw.

Around 3:14 a.m. on November 19, Peake met Hill outside the Coronado Complex on the UNM campus. As they walked together, Travis, Smith, and Upshaw approached from behind. Travis, armed with a gun, pointed it at Peake’s face, while another assailant struck Peake in the leg with a baseball bat. Despite being injured and outnumbered, Peake managed to draw his own firearm and return fire. He shot Travis four times, killing him. The other two attackers fled the scene. Peake was also shot in the leg.

The Investigation

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, law enforcement launched a comprehensive investigation into the incident. Surveillance footage, witness statements and physical evidence were all meticulously reviewed. Peake was taken to the hospital, and his actions were scrutinized to determine whether his use of deadly force was justified.

The investigation revealed that Peake had acted in self-defense. The Bernalillo District Attorney’s Office conducted a thorough review of the case and, on May 22, 2023, announced that no charges would be filed against Peake. The decision was based on the evidence that clearly showed Peake was the victim of an unprovoked attack and had responded to protect his own life.

The Lawsuit

While Peake may have been cleared of criminal charges, the legal battles are far from over. The family of Brandon Travis has filed a civil lawsuit, not against Peake, but against New Mexico State University and its former basketball coaches, Greg Heiar and Dominique Taylor. According to reports by KOAT, the lawsuit alleges that NMSU and its administrators fostered a “toxic, violent culture” that contributed to Travis’s death.

The Travis family is seeking monetary damages, arguing that the university’s environment played a significant role in the tragic events. Their attorney has claimed that NMSU’s failure to address and control the behavior of its athletes created the conditions that led to the confrontation.

KOAT’s legal expert John Day highlighted the challenges the Travis family faces in proving their case. 

“They’ve got to establish in a court of law that New Mexico State was somehow responsible for this situation,” Day noted. The lawsuit underscores the complexities of self-defense cases in the United States, where even a justified shooting can lead to prolonged legal battles in civil court.

This ongoing lawsuit serves as a stark reminder that in the aftermath of a defensive shooting, the fight isn’t over once the criminal charges are dropped and can even reach further than those directly involved. The civil courts present another battleground not often discussed in self-defense cases where the stakes are still high, and the financial and emotional toll can be just as severe as the initial confrontation.

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