A fourth person has been charged in connection with an ambush that allowed a white supremacist Idaho prison gang member to escape as he was being discharged from a Boise hospital. Tia J. Garcia, a 27-year-old from Twin Falls, owned the car that the inmate Skylar Meade and his accomplice, Nicholas Umphenour, used to flee after Umphenour shot and wounded two corrections officers. Garcia falsely reported the car stolen less than an hour after the ambush, and text messages showed that Umphenour had instructed her to do so. Police tracked down Meade and Umphenour 36 hours after their escape, but the pair is also suspected in the killings of two men while on the run.
Garcia, who is an acquaintance of Umphenour and Meade, picked up Umphenour from the airport when he arrived in Boise on March 17. Surveillance video shows Garcia and Umphenour in various places around Boise that day. She has a criminal record that includes six felonies and four misdemeanors, such as battery and drug charges. Garcia is being held on $1 million bail on a charge of aiding and abetting escape. Authorities are still investigating the planning and execution of the escape, as Meade and Umphenour were both members of the Aryan Knights white supremacist prison gang.
Meade was serving 20 years in prison for shooting at a sheriff’s sergeant during a chase, while Umphenour had recently been released from prison in January after serving time for theft and gun convictions. The attack on the corrections officers took place in the early hours of March 20 at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, where Meade had been brought due to an injury. Two corrections officers were wounded by Umphenour, and a third was injured by police who mistook the officer for the gunman. While on the run, Meade and Umphenour are believed to have killed two men in northern Idaho.
After the ambush, the Idaho State Police found evidence linking Meade and Umphenour to the killings of the two men in northern Idaho. Gerald Don Henderson, a 72-year-old cabin owner, and James L. Mauney, an 83-year-old resident, were both found dead. Shackles were discovered at Henderson’s cabin, and Mauney’s minivan was located in Filer. Tonia Huber, who was driving the truck Meade was in, has been charged with harboring a fugitive, eluding police, and drug possession. Huber’s attorney maintains her innocence and awaits further legal proceedings.
Meade, Umphenour, and Garcia are scheduled for preliminary hearings before an Ada County Magistrate Judge on April 8. Huber, who is facing charges in Twin Falls County, is set for a preliminary hearing on April 5. Correction Director Josh Tewalt has pledged to review the department’s policies and practices following the escape. The incident has raised concerns about security at hospitals and medical centers, prompting a reevaluation of safety measures. The authorities are working to understand the details of how the escape was planned and executed.
