Idaho man gets life sentence for shootings during prisoner escape

Oct. 5 (UPI) — A man convicted of shooting two Idaho corrections officers while helping a prisoner make a daring escape received a sentence of life in prison.

Nicholas Umphenour will also have no parole eligibility for 40 years, Ada County District Judge Nancy Baskin ruled Friday.

Umphenour previously pleaded guilty to three counts of assault or battery on law enforcement and one count each of unlawful possession of a firearm, and use of a firearm in a crime as well as one lesser charge.

The 29-year-old in March helped plan and carry out the escape of prisoner Skylar Meade on March 20.

Meade was being transferred to the Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho for treatment when a then-unknown suspect began shooting at Idaho Department of Corrections officers.

Two officers were shot by the suspect, while a third was hit in the confusion by bullets fired by a responding police officer.

Authorities later identified Umphenour as the accomplice, leading to a manhunt.

Umphenour and Meade were captured a day later in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Meade, who officials say has affiliations with white supremacist gangs, had been incarcerated since October 2016 after convictions for aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer with a firearm enhancement.

Meade received a life sentence with parole eligibility after 35 years for his part in the escape.

In June, authorities charged Meade and Umphenour with murder in the death of an 83-year-old man whose body was found near Leland, Idaho. Officials believe Meade and Umphenour killed the elderly man while on the run.

They continue to investigate the death of a second 72-year-old man which they believe may have involved the two fugitives.

The judge on Friday cited Umphenour’s total disregard for human life in handing down the prison sentence.

During the proceedings, the court heard a recorded phone call made by Umphenour to his step-mother.

“It doesn’t bother me what kind of animal is that. It doesn’t bother me one bit and I know it should,” Umphenour said in reference to shooting the corrections officers.

“You are a persistent violator. You are a career criminal,” Baskin told the court, adding the 40-year-period of parole ineligibility was primarily to protect the public from Umphenour.