An escaped inmate and his alleged accomplice were both arrested Thursday afternoon in Twin Falls, Idaho, members of a white supremacist gang. After a great hunt.
Inmate Skyler Mead escaped from a medical center in Boise early Wednesday morning.
The suspects were in the Twin Falls area around 2 p.m. local time Thursday, Boise Police Chief Ron Vinegar said at a news conference. After a brief vehicle search, the suspects were arrested separately. No shots were fired.
Idaho State Police Lt. Col. Sheldon Kelly said two homicides are being investigated as possible suspects. The suspects were found driving a vehicle belonging to one of the victims. The two murdered men were found in rural Idaho.
Once Umphenour was identified as a suspect, investigators looked into his connections to Mead, state Department of Corrections Director Josh DeWalt said at a Thursday briefing.
Besides being documented members of a white supremacist gang called the Arian Knights, the two occasionally lived in the same housing unit at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, where Umbenor was in custody from December 2020 to January 2024, officials said. They shared common acquaintances both in and out of custody.
Boise Police Department
Mead engaged in “self-injurious” behavior Tuesday night after which authorities determined he needed to be transferred for safety, state Department of Corrections Director Josh DeWalt said at a news conference Wednesday.
Umbenor attacked and shot two officers at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center around 2:15 a.m. Wednesday, authorities said. A third person, later determined to be a corrections officer, was shot by responding Boise police officers.
One of the injured corrections officers was released from the hospital Wednesday evening, while two other injured officers remain hospitalized, DeWalt said Thursday.
“They are stable, making progress, and I think their spirits have been lifted by today's news,” DeWalt said, calling the incident “a difficult ordeal for the Corrections family.”
This is a breaking news update. Check back for developments.
