Idaho manhunt: Escaped Idaho inmate's handcuffs tie him to double-murder scene, police say
The escaped convict and alleged accomplice sought in an Idaho manhunt are now accused of killing two people while they were on the run, authorities said Thursday.
Skylar Meade and Nicholas Umphenour were arrested after being accused of an ambush and shooting at a hospital Wednesday that injured three officers, Boise police said at a press conference.
Boise Police Department Chief Ron Winegar said the two are considered suspects in two northern Idaho homicides of two men who were found dead "rural Idaho, not inside of city limits."
Officers also found the handcuffs Meade escaped in at the scene.
Police found the vehicle Meade and Umphenour used to escape in northern Idaho, the chief said. He added that the duo fled the area in a different vehicle.
"The motive and why they did what they did, I don't know," Winegar said.
Meade fled the Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, about three miles west of the state capital's downtown area, before two state corrections officers prepared to take him back to prison. Umphenour opened fire in front of the emergency room early Wednesday morning, the Boise Police Department reported.
Who is Skylar Meade?
Meade is a convicted felon who escaped serving a 20-year prison sentence for assault or battery with an enhancement for use of a deadly weapon from a 2017 shooting, IDOC records show. While fleeing from a traffic stop amidst a police chase, he fired several shots at a law enforcement officer.
Meade, who officials described as a white supremacist gang member, also had prior convictions from felony possession of a controlled substance and grand theft to introduction of contraband into a correctional facility. His incarceration began in October 2016 with his most recent sentence set to end in 2036.
Who is Nicholas Umphenour?
Umphenour is considered an Meade's accomplice and associate, detectives said.
Police did not release Umphenour's age or clarify whether he has a local criminal history.
Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund Cybele Mayes-Osterman & Jonathan Limehouse