Campus Chaos
Discover more from Chile Street
In this week’s Chile Street:
UNM student killed, NMSU student injured in shootout on Albuquerque campus
New Mexicans show support for Club Q
AG seeks more funding to investigate missing Indigenous people
Details scarce on jailed man taken to hospital
How to try to avoid catching covid
Musk’s interloper ways revealed in New Mexico 15 years ago
And more!
Good morning! Today is Friday, Nov. 25. Here’s a look at the past week in New Mexico news.
UNM Community Shaken by Shootout
A brawl at the Rio Grande Rivalry football game between the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University last month in Las Cruces led to the deadly Nov. 19 shooting on the UNM campus, according to an affidavit filed in Metropolitan Court.
Michael Peake, a 21-year-old NMSU basketball player was shot an injured and Brandon Travis, a 19-year-old UNM student, was killed following the shooting near UNM student housing around 3 a.m. that Saturday.
An investigation by New Mexico State Police detectives determined that Travis enlisted the help of several friends in a plot to lure Peake to the UNM campus so Travis could extract revenge for the fight that took place in Las Cruces last month.
The plan was to have a 17-year-old girl lure Peake to UNM. Peake was in Albuquerque with NMSU teammates ahead of a scheduled rivalry game at the Pit. When he arrived at UNM, Travis pointed a gun at him as the others surrounded Peake, according to the affidavit.
Someone in the group struck Peake in the leg with a baseball bat and Peake attempted to run, but Travis fired at him “several times,” according to the affidavit. Peake drew a firearm and returned shots, with at least one round striking him. Travis fired again, hitting Peake in the leg. Travis was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Two of the people involved fled the area, and one of them — 19-year-old Jonathan Smith — stashed a cellphone under a car to avoid being tracked by it, the affidavit stated. Smith and another person changed clothes, tossed the old ones in the sewer, and then returned to where Travis was killed and “blended into” the crowd where they watched as people tried to save him.
Smith has been charged with aggravated battery, conspiracy and tampering with evidence, all felonies. The girl, a 17-year-old UNM freshman, was arrested and booked into the juvenile detention center. She is charged with aggravated battery and conspiracy in children’s court.
Further Fallout
Brooke Berry, a UNM freshman women’s basketball player announced Nov. 21 she is leaving the school and the team because of the recent violence and other crime on and around the UNM campus, Ken Sickenger of the Albuquerque Journal reported.
Berry will complete her current UNM classes online and enter the transfer portal.
Read Sickenger’s story here (paywall): abqjournal.com/2552007/violence-prompts-berry-to-depart.html
New Mexicans Rally for Club Q
New Mexicans came together in support for those devastated by the murder of five people at Club Q in Colorado Springs. Dozens gathered in Morningside Park on Nov. 22 to grieve the lives lost, Maddie Pukite reported for Source New Mexico.
Following a moment of silence, the space was open for anyone to share songs, prayers, or words.
The gathering was held in the same park where every June during Albuquerque’s Pride events, a vigil for LGBTQ people who’ve died is held.
Read Pukite’s story here (no paywall): sourcenm.com/2022/11/23/vigil-in-albuquerque-honors-people-killed-in-colorado-springs-at-club-q/
Top Stories
AG says more funding needed to investigate missing Indigenous people
Nearly 200 Indigenous people are missing in New Mexico. Probably more, one Navajo lawmaker says. And the state tasked the Attorney General’s Office this year with working in partnership with sovereign nations on cases of missing Indigenous people. But a deputy director for the AG’s Office said they can’t do much more without additional state funding, Megan Gleason of Source New Mexico reported.
Read Gleason’s story here (no paywall): sourcenm.com/2022/11/18/new-mexico-ags-office-says-it-needs-more-funding-to-investigate-missing-indigenous-people/
Details scarce on jailed man taken to hospital
A man being held at the San Miguel County Detention Center was transported to a hospital in Albuquerque on Thursday following an apparent suicide attempt earlier that morning. His condition is still unknown, according to county officials, Ryan Lowery reported for the Las Vegas Optic.
San Miguel County officials said they have not received any official word on the man’s condition, and she said she could not release his name.
Read Lowery’s story here (no paywall): lasvegasoptic.com/news/crime/details-scarce-on-jailed-man-taken-to-hospital/article_7cecc81e-69fc-11ed-bc96-2f4e098b614e.html
Covid-19, flu and RSV cases on the rise
Wear a mask. Get vaccinated. Stay home if you’re sick. New Mexico health officials offered a familiar litany of advice as a concomitant familiar pattern of cold weather ushering in higher Covid-19 cases has begun to emerge across the state, Julia Goldberg reported for the Santa Fe Reporter.
Read Goldberg’s story here (no paywall): sfreporter.com/news/2022/11/17/nm-health-officials-report-on-triple-threat/
How to try to avoid catching covid
Individual behavior is not a guarantee of avoiding infection with covid, but there are steps you can take to mitigate the risk of catching it over the upcoming holiday season, Austin Fisher of Source New Mexico reported.
Read Fisher’s story here (no paywall): sourcenm.com/2022/11/18/how-to-try-to-avoid-catching-covid-over-the-holidays/
Twitter, Tesla and one ruthless interloper
Musk’s track record of cajoling, then using and discarding well-intentioned people, became public 15 years ago in New Mexico, Milan Simonich of the Santa Fe New Mexican writes.
Read Simonich’s coulmn here (paywall): santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/twitter-tesla-and-one-ruthless-interloper/article_6b54bffc-64f3-11ed-9e7a-471f2dd6316a.html
Add a New Friend to the Family
Albuquerque’s Animal Welfare Department is waving adoption fees for pets adopted on Black Friday.
While fees are waved, all other adoption policies remain in place, including thorough match-making procedures and background checks. Each adoption will include spay or neuter, a microchip, required vaccinations, and one free initial vet visit.
Those who adopt dogs even receive one free dog training class. (You can’t train cats, take our word on this one...)
Visit Lucky Paws at 660 Menaul NE, inside the Coronado Mall, or the Everyday Adoption Center at 350 Eubank Blvd. NE, inside Petsmart, Friday, Nov. 25 from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
That’s it for now. Have a great weekend!
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Who’s responsible for Chile Street? The culprit is Ryan Lowery, a New Mexico journalist living in Albuquerque.
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