The Twin Falls County Sheriff’s Office released the new mugshots of Nicholas Umphenour and Skylar Meade, two white supremacists who were arrested 36 hours after shooting three corrections officers in a desperate attempt to escape an Idaho prison.
Both men wore stony and defiant expressions as they posed for their mugshots. Meade’s face was covered in tattoos and possible Aryan Knight markings. Umphenour’s low collar revealed several tattoos on his neck.
It seemed that the men might have changed their appearance a bit after walking on the lamb. Umphenour looked as if he had shaved his beard with close-cropped facial hair.
The two white supremacists are now being investigated for two murders carried out just hours after they were released from custody on Wednesday morning.
Umphenour (left) is said to have shot three Idaho corrections officers as they prepared to return Meade (right) to prison from a hospital
The gunman opened fire on detention officers who had taken Skylar Meade, seen here, to St Alphonse hospital in Boise, Idaho, for treatment early Wednesday morning.
Nicholas Umphenour was arrested with Meade and charged with aiding his escape
Umphenour allegedly burst into St Alphonse Hospital in Boise, Idaho, where Meade, 31, was being treated under armed guard and shot three correctional officers.
The pair fled, but Meade and Umphenour were arrested after a car chase at 2 p.m. Thursday afternoon in Twin Falls, Idaho.
The Boise Police Department said it is now investigating two separate homicides, one in Nez Perce County and another in Clearwater County, potentially connected to the couple, who are both members of the Aryan Knights.
Officers said the pair ditched their getaway car and drove a vehicle belonging to one of the homicide victims, and that handcuffs worn by Meade when he escaped were found at the scene of one of the homicides.
“What we know, almost certainly, this was not an accident,” said Josh Tewalt of the Department of Corrections.
‘This was a planned event. And we’re channeling every resource we have into trying to understand exactly how they planned it.’
As prison staff prepared to return Meade to the jail early Wednesday morning, a suspect began shooting at officers, striking two of them.
Boise police responded to the incident and an officer fired at a gunman near the entrance, who was later determined to be a corrections officer.
One officer is in critical but stable condition, another has serious but non-life-threatening injuries and the third was not seriously injured when he was mistakenly shot by an arriving Boise police officer, a spokesman said.
This photo provided by the Idaho Department of Corrections shows Skylar Mead in a prison photo
Meade ‘engaged in self-injurious behavior’ Tuesday night and jail medical staff determined he should be taken to the hospital for treatment, Idaho State Police said
According to Boise police, a preliminary investigation indicates Meade got away in a gray four-door sedan and fled the area just before officers arrived.
Idaho State Police said the vehicle, a 2020 Honda Civic, was later found near Leland, Idaho, south of Kendrick.
Meade has served time in prison for aggravated battery against a Twin Falls officer and was sentenced in 2016 and was scheduled to be released in 2036. KMVT.
He “engaged in self-injurious behavior” Tuesday night, and prison medical staff determined he should be taken to the hospital for treatment, Idaho State Police said.
He has previous convictions, including felony possession of a controlled substance, grand theft and introducing contraband into a correctional facility.
He has been imprisoned since October 2016 and his latest sentence was set to end in October 2036.
Umphenour was incarcerated from December 2020 to January 2024 at the same Idaho Max Security facility where Meade served his sentence and at times shared the same housing unit, Tewalt said.
Chief Ron Winegar said in a statement: “This brazen, violent and apparently coordinated attack on Idaho Department of Corrections personnel, to facilitate the escape of a dangerous inmate, was carried out right in front of the Emergency Department, where people come for medical help, often during the worst circumstances.
‘When the BPD officers responded they believed the shooter was inside the emergency department.
Officers from the Boise Police Department told a press conference this afternoon that they fear the white supremacists may have committed two murders during their hours on the run
A spokesman for Saint Alphonsus said the shooting happened in the ambulance bay of its emergency department
A police vehicle is parked outside Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho, Wednesday, March 20, 2024
The 2020 Honda Civic in which the couple escaped was later found near Leland, Idaho, south of Kendrick
‘They immediately stepped in to address any potential continued threat to emergency room staff.
‘I am grateful that this appalling incident did not result in loss of life and we are monitoring the injured IDOC officers with great hope for a full and speedy recovery for all involved.
‘They are armed, dangerous and have shown that they are willing to use extreme violence to further their criminal activity.’
A spokesman for Saint Alphonsus said the shooting happened in the ambulance bay of its emergency department.
‘All patients and staff are safe, the medical center campus is safe and secure and has resumed normal operations.
“The emergency department itself is currently on temporary lockdown while the Boise Police Department completes its investigation,” said Leticia Ramirez.
She said as an extra precaution ‘we have increased security on campus, all entrances to the hospital will be closed’ and monitored by hospital security until further notice.