Idaho inmate gets life sentence for state prison escape in Boise hospital

BOISE — An Idaho inmate was sentenced to life in prison Friday for escaping from custody at a Boise hospital after guards guarding him were violently attacked.

Skylar Meade pleaded guilty to escape and to enhanced sentences for being a persistent offender and causing bodily harm during the crime earlier this year. Fourth District Judge Nancy Baskin also sentenced him to five more years for possession of a controlled substance and having contraband in a prison.

Meade must serve 35 years on these charges before he is eligible for parole.

The case began in the early morning hours of March 20, after the Idaho Department of Corrections took Meade to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center for treatment of self-inflicted wounds. As corrections officers prepared to take Meade back to prison around 2 a.m., an accomplice opened fire outside the hospital, prosecutors say.

Prosecutors say Nicholas Umphenour shot and killed two of the guards.

A third officer was shot and wounded when a fellow officer mistook him for the shooter and opened fire. All three officers survived their injuries.

According to investigators, Meade and Umphenour drove several hours to north-central Idaho and then back to the southern part of the state, where they were arrested about 36 hours after the hospital attack.

Police described both men as members of a white supremacist gang who were incarcerated at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna and at times were in the same unit.

At the time of the escape, Meade, 31, was serving a 20-year prison sentence for shooting a sheriff’s sergeant during a high-speed chase. Umphenour was released in January after serving sentences for grand larceny and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Umphenour is charged with three counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, discharging a firearm during a crime, and aiding and abetting escape, all felonies. He remained silent when asked to enter a plea to those charges in May, and the judge subsequently entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. He is expected to stand trial on those charges in October.

Both men were also indicted in Nez Perce County in June on murder charges in connection with the death of 83-year-old James Mauney of Juliaetta, Idaho. Idaho State Police said Mauney’s remains were found near Leland, Idaho. State police are still investigating the death of another man in the area who they believe is connected to the case.

Neither Meade’s nor Umphenour’s attorneys immediately responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Contributing: Mark Thiessen, Associated Press