Skylar Meade transferred to Nez Perce County to face murder charge
Skylar Meade, right, is arrested in Twin Falls on Thursday, March 21, 2024. Credit: Twin Falls Police Department via AP
NEZ PERCE COUNTY— One of two men who were involved in a Boise prison escape was transported to the Nez Perce County jail Thursday where he will face murder charges for the death of an elderly Juliaetta, Idaho man.
Skylar Meade is accused of killing 83-year-old James Mauney near Leland, east of Juliaetta, during his prison escape in March of 2024. Meade was formally indicted in June.
Meade pleaded guilty to the escape and to a sentencing enhancement for being a persistent violator and for causing bodily injury during the crime earlier this year. Fourth District Judge Nancy Baskin also sentenced him to another five years for possession of a controlled substance and having contraband in prison.
Meade must serve 35 years for those charges before being considered for parole.
The case began in the early morning hours of March 20 after the Idaho Department of Correction brought Meade to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center for treatment of self-inflicted injuries. As correctional officers prepared to take Meade back to the prison around 2 a.m., an accomplice outside the hospital began shooting, prosecutors say.
Nicholas Umphenour shot two of the correctional officers, prosecutors say.
A third officer was shot and injured when a fellow police officer mistook him for the shooter and opened fire. All three of the officers survived their injuries.
Meade and another inmate, Nicholas Umphenour, were on the run from police for roughly 36 hours following the escape before being arrested in southern Idaho.
Police described both men as white supremacist gang members who had been incarcerated at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna, at times housed in the same unit.
At the time of the escape, Meade was serving a 20-year sentence for shooting at a sheriff's sergeant during a high-speed chase. Umphenour was released in January after serving time on charges of grand theft and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Umphenour is charged with three counts of aggravated battery on law enforcement officers, using a firearm during a crime and aiding and abetting escape, all felonies. He stood silent when asked to enter a plea to those charges in May and the judge subsequently entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. He is scheduled to stand trial on those charges in October.