Police recapture Idaho inmate who escaped after ambush

Police in Idaho recaptured an inmate and his alleged accomplice Wednesday afternoon, hours after corrections officers at a Boise hospital were attacked and the inmate escaped. Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar said inmate Skylar Meade and his accomplice, Nicholas Umphenour, were captured in the Twin Falls area after a brief vehicle pursuit. No one was injured in that incident. 

Police say Meade escaped Wednesday morning during an unscheduled trip to a local hospital for medical treatment. A shooter ambushed Idaho Department of Correction officers preparing to leave Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. Two corrections officers were shot and injured while Meade escaped with the shooter in a grey four-door sedan before police arrived on the scene. A third officer was accidentally shot by responding Boise police officers and received a non-fatal wound. Boise police said Thursday all three officers received treatment and were in stable condition, with one sustaining critical injuries.

Who was the shooter? Authorities identified Umphenour, a known associate of Meade’s, as the suspected shooter. Umphenour faces two charges of aggravated battery against police and one charge of aiding and abetting an escape.

What was Meade in for? The 31-year-old had been incarcerated since 2016 for aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer with a firearm. His prior convictions include felony possession of a controlled substance, grand theft, and introduction of contraband into a correctional facility. Meade’s latest sentence was scheduled to end in October 2036, and he was ineligible to receive parole until 2026.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read about the effectiveness of evangelism in prison.