From Boise to North Idaho to Montana: How suspects traveled after hospital ambush
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Boise hospital ambush, homicides
An ambush at a Boise hospital left three Department of Correction officers with gunshot wounds and two suspects, including an escaped prisoner, fleeing from the scene. Police said the suspects, while they eluded capture, killed two men in North Idaho.
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In less than two days, the men accused of coordinating a Boise hospital ambush before fleeing to North Idaho — where two men were killed — traveled nearly 1,000 miles, making an almost complete circle around the state before they were arrested two hours from where it all started.
The pair police credited with being at the center of the ambush, Nicholas Umphenour and Skylar Meade, were arrested in Twin Falls after a 36-hour statewide manhunt that began in the Treasure Valley and ended in Twin Falls. The men were accused of staging an attack on Department of Correction officers at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center to free Meade from custody. Police said Umphenour shot two of those officers, while a third was shot by Boise police. Meade and Umphenour fled from the scene in a vehicle, police said.
Authorities said they believe Umphenour and Meade, members of the white supremacist gang Aryan Knights, then drove six hours north and killed two men in Nez Perce and Clearwater counties, left the state, then traveled back to Southern Idaho, where they were arrested Thursday afternoon. Idaho State Police said both men are under investigation for the homicides of 72-year-old Don Henderson and 83-year-old James Mauney.
Meade and Umphenour were charged with several felonies related to the hospital escape and held at the Ada County Jail on $2 million bonds. Two other suspects, 52-year-old Tonia Huber and 27-year-old Tia Garcia, were arrested and face charges relating to Meade’s escape. Huber was caught after she and Meade fled from police in a silver pickup truck, according to an affidavit from the Twin Falls Police Department.
Huber, whose bond was set at $505,000, was charged with three felonies: harboring a fugitive, eluding a police officer in a motor vehicle, and possession of a controlled substance, court records showed. The Filer resident bailed out of the Twin Falls County Jail on Friday.
Here’s a look at the timeline of events since the Boise hospital attack.
Wednesday, March 20: Umphenour shot and injured two IDOC officers who were preparing to transport Meade back to prison in the hospital’s ambulance bay at 2:15 a.m. Wednesday police said, while a third correction officer was shot and injured by a Boise police officer. Both of the suspects fled before Boise police arrived.
Authorities alleged that the men fled to North Idaho, where they killed Henderson and Mauney. The Clearwater Coroner’s Office said Henderson was killed around 1 p.m. PST, but it’s unclear when Mauney, who went missing early Wednesday, was killed.
Thursday, March 21: Umphenour and Meade were spotted early Thursday in the Missoula area before they traveled back to Idaho. By 2 p.m. several law enforcement agencies found and arrested the men, along with Huber, in Twin Falls County following a pursuit.
Boise police later said a fourth suspect, Garcia, of Twin Falls, was arrested for a parole violation that same day and held in the Twin Falls County Jail.
Friday, March 22: Umphenour and Meade appeared at the Twin Falls County Courthouse for their initial hearings. The men’s bonds were set at $2 million, and Huber’s bond was set at $505,000. Later that afternoon, Umphenour and Meade were transferred to the Ada County Jail.
Monday, March 25: Umphenour and Meade appeared via video at the Ada County Courthouse on their respective charges. Fourth District Magistrate Judge Michael Dean kept the men’s bonds at $2 million after prosecutors argued that they were a danger to the community.
Thursday, March 28: Garcia was charged with felony aiding and abetting escape in connection with Meade and held at the Ada County Jail on a $1 million bond. She can’t post bail because of the nature of her crimes, according to online jail records.
Shawn Kelley, a legal intern for the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office, said Garcia picked Umphenour from the Boise Airport three days before the ambush. Garcia also provided Umphenour with her vehicle to get away from police after the hospital ambush, Kelley said.
This story was originally published March 28, 2024 at 1:03 PM.
