Escaped Idaho white supremacist and accomplice captured; 2 homicides may be linked to suspects

BOISE, Idaho - An Idaho prisoner and white supremacist who escaped custody at a Boise hospital after an accomplice reportedly shot and wounded corrections officers was captured Thursday afternoon with the man who helped him flee. 

According to police, Skylar Meade is the prisoner, and Nicholas Umphenour is the accomplice suspected of shooting two corrections officers in an ambush Wednesday in the ambulance bay at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. Umphenour was wanted on two charges of aggravated battery against law enforcement and one charge of aiding and abetting an escape, police said.

Skylar Meade, left, and Nicholas Umphenour (Boise Police)

The two were captured in Twin Falls, Idaho, after a short pursuit, police said at a press conference Thursday. The Honda Accord they fled in was found in Leland, Idaho. Two homicides, one in Nez Perce County and the other in Clearwater County, may be linked to the suspects, police said. They said they could not provide further information about the homicides or how the suspects may be involved. 

Meade, 31, is a white supremacist and Aryan Knights gang member who was sentenced to 20 years in 2017 for shooting at a sheriff’s sergeant during a high-speed chase. Meade has prior convictions including felony possession of a controlled substance, grand theft, and introduction of contraband into a correctional facility.

Honda Civic seen leaving the hospital (Boise Police)

He has been behind bars since October 2016 and was set to be released in October 2036.

Idaho corrections officers ambushed, shot at hospital

Authorities said Meade was taken to the hospital at 9:35 p.m. Tuesday after he engaged in "self-injurious behavior" and medical staff determined he needed emergency care.

Skylar Meade (Boise Police)

The attack against officers happened at 2:15 a.m. as Idaho Department of Correction officers prepared to bring Meade back to prison. A gunman, later identified as Umphenour, opened fire on two officers. A third officer was mistakenly shot by another police officer who responded to reports of an active shooter. 

Umphenour and inmate Skylar Meade drove off early Wednesday after the shooting in a gray 2020 Honda Civic with Idaho plates. 

The Aryan Knights formed in the mid-1990s in the Idaho prison system to organize criminal activity for a select group of white people in custody, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in the district of Idaho.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.