Here’s how police found the suspects in Boise hospital ambush, with a boost from the FBI

Alex Brizee
·4 min read
5

A Twin Falls Police Department affidavit shed light into the arrest of two men accused of orchestrating an ambush at a Boise hospital that resulted in three injured Idaho Department of Correction officers.

Skylar Meade and Nicholas Umphenour were arrested Thursday after a 36-hour statewide manhunt ended just two hours east of the Treasure Valley. After the shooting at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise early Wednesday, authorities alleged, Meade and Umphenour drove roughly six hours north to the Lewiston area and killed two men that afternoon.

By 2 p.m. Thursday, the two suspects were arrested in Twin Falls with the assistance of several local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

The Boise Police Department said Umphenour shot two IDOC officers while Meade, an Idaho prisoner being treated for self-inflicted injuries, was being taken back to prison around 2 a.m. Wednesday — allowing the pair to flee police custody. A third officer was also shot by Boise police.

Two of the officers have been released from the hospital, according to IDOC Director Josh Tewalt. The third officer is still hospitalized.

Umphenour has been charged with five felonies: three counts of aggravated battery or assault against law enforcement, use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony and aiding and abetting an escape, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office. Meade faces a single count of felony escape, court records showed.

While Idaho State Police said they believe the men are connected to the North Idaho homicides of 72-year-old Don Henderson and 83-year-old James Mauney, the suspects haven’t been charged in their deaths.

Skylar Meade, 31, was arrested by police at 2:09 p.m. Thursday, March 21, near the intersection of North Washington Street and East Pole Line Road in Twin Falls following a statewide pursuit.
Skylar Meade, 31, was arrested by police at 2:09 p.m. Thursday, March 21, near the intersection of North Washington Street and East Pole Line Road in Twin Falls following a statewide pursuit.

Affidavit outlines Thursday’s arrest

At around 1:30 p.m. Thursday, FBI Agent Christopher Sheehan was surveilling a residential area in Filer, which is about 15 minutes west of Twin Falls, when he witnessed Umphenour leave the neighborhood, according to the affidavit written by Twin Falls Police Officer Alex Howard.

While pursuing Umphenour, 28, the affidavit said, Sheehan saw Meade in the passenger seat of another vehicle, a silver Chevy Silverado pickup truck, and switched to pursuing the 31-year-old Meade. At this point, the driver, later identified as Tonia Huber, began speeding upwards of 100 mph toward Twin Falls, the affidavit said.

“The vehicle traveled more than 30 miles per hour above the posted speed limit and drove the pickup in a manner as to endanger or likely to endanger a person or property,” Howard said in the affidavit.

Huber eventually drove into a Walgreens parking lot just off of U.S. 93, where Twin Falls Police Officer Tyler Kuder struck the vehicle on its side with his own vehicle to force it sideways and stop it, a maneuver typically called a pursuit intervention technique or PIT maneuver, to stop the truck, the affidavit said. Meade and Huber were arrested.

Police said Umphenour was also arrested in the Twin Falls area, though it’s unknown exactly where. The other vehicle Umphenour was driving was from one of the homicide victims, the affidavit said.

Howard, who was also at the scene, said when he arrested Huber he found three fentanyl pills in the vehicle where Huber was sitting, the affidavit said. The 52-year-old was charged with three felonies: harboring a fugitive, eluding a police officer in a motor vehicle, and possession of a controlled substance, online court records showed.

Huber also had a warrant out for her arrest after she missed a court date last year, Twin Falls Magistrate Judge Benjamin Harmer said in court Friday. Online court records showed Huber was charged with misdemeanor petit theft in May 2023. Huber posted her $505,000 bond Friday.



Meade and Umphenour’s next hearing set for April

Meade and Umphenour were extradited to the Ada County Jail over the weekend and appeared in court Monday. During the afternoon hearing, prosecutors for the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office asked 4th District Magistrate Judge Michael Dean to maintain Meade and Umphenour’s bonds at $2 million.

Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Heather Reilly said Umphenour is an “extreme risk to the community,” citing his long criminal history. Umphenour served three separate prison sentences as an adult related to burglary and hunting, the Statesman reported.

Both men remained at the Ada County Jail on Monday evening on their $2 million bonds, jail records showed. They’ll be expected to appear in court for their next hearings at 8:30 a.m. April 8 at the Ada County Courthouse, according to online court records.