Trial vacated for man who helped prisoner escape in ambush at Boise hospital. Here’s why
Published at
Carolyn Komatsoulis, Idaho Statesman
(Idaho Statesman) — Nicholas Umphenour, the man charged with helping an Idaho Department of Correction prisoner escape during an ambush at a Boise hospital, pleaded guilty late last month to half a dozen charges.
His trial, originally set for Oct. 21, has been vacated. Umphenour will be sentenced on Oct. 4, court records show.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of assault or battery upon certain personnel, as well as unlawful possession of a firearm, escaping and use of a deadly weapon during a felony, court records showed.
Umphenour was charged with shooting at IDOC officers while helping Skyler Meade escape from custody at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in March, according to previous reporting. The two are members of the Aryan Knights, a white supremacist prison gang, police have said.
RELATED | Who are the suspects? Men at center of Boise hospital ambush had long criminal records
RELATED | Suspect who fled shooting at Boise hospital is member of Aryan Knights. Who are they?
Boise police said Umphenour shot two IDOC officers, while a third was mistakenly struck by police bullets in the chaos of the moment. All three IDOC officers survived.
At his initial court appearance in May, Umphenour chose to stand silent, which led Judge Nancy Baskin to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf, as mandated by Idaho law.
Meade pleaded guilty in May and July to a litany of charges. He was sentenced in July to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 35 years, with the judge calling him a “career criminal.”
Both Meade and Umphenour also were indicted in June in Nez Perce County on first-degree murder charges in 83-year-old James Mauney’s death. Mauney didn’t return home after walking his dogs and police later found his body in a “desolate area,” according to previous Statesman reporting.
Law enforcement have said they suspected Umphenour and Meade were involved in two homicides — Mauney and another North Idaho man — after the two fled from Boise. They were found and apprehended by authorities near Twin Falls the next day.
“These indictments are the first step in the process of seeking justice for James Mauney,” Nez Perce Prosecutor Justin Coleman said in a news release announcing the murder charges. “We have a long way to go to reach the conclusion we want and will continue to work diligently with law enforcement agencies throughout the state to ensure we have the strongest case possible to present.”