A third person was arrested with the two suspects accused of coordinating an ambush at a Boise hospital early Wednesday morning that left three Department of Correction officers with gunshot wounds, Lori Stewart, a victim witness coordinator for Twin Falls County, told the Idaho Statesman.
Tonia Huber, 52, was arrested Thursday alongside prisoner Skylar Meade and Nicholas Umphenour, who were accused of the coordinated attack, and was believed to be involved in Meade’s escape, Stewart said. Huber, of Filer, was charged with felony eluding and possession of a controlled substance, according to Twin Falls County Sheriff’s Office records.
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Police said IDOC officers at around 2 a.m. Wednesday were transporting Meade, 31, back to prison after being treated for a self-inflicted wound, when Umphenour, 28, attacked the officers at the ambulance bay and shot two of them. Authorities said both suspects fled in a vehicle before police arrived. A third officer was shot by police.
Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar at a news conference announced they found the suspects in the Twin Falls area by Thursday afternoon, after a statewide search and a Blue Alert, which is used for suspects who injured law enforcement and are believed to be a public threat.
Huber was driving a vehicle at the time of her arrest, Stewart said, but she declined to say whether she was driving a vehicle with the other two suspects.
Police said Meade and Umphenour are both members of the Aryan Knights, a white supremacist prison gang known for targeting incarcerated people of color. Police at the Thursday news conference also said the two suspects are now linked to two homicides, one in Twin Falls and another in Nez Perce County.
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