Police identify homicide victims of suspects involved in Boise hospital ambush, shooting

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Idaho State Police identified the two men who were allegedly killed by suspects accused of staging an ambush at a Boise hospital Wednesday morning.

State police identified the victims as James L. Mauney, 83, of Juliaetta, and Gerald “Don” Henderson, 72, of Orofino.

The suspects, Skylar Meade, 31, and Nicholas Umphenour, 28, fled in a stolen Honda Civic after they coordinated an attack at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in the Boise Bench, authorities said. Umphenour fired at IDOC officers as Meade, an Idaho prisoner being treated for self-inflicted injuries, was being transported back to prison, Boise police previously said. A third officer was shot by police.

Meade and Umphenour were found Thursday afternoon near Twin Falls after a statewide search and placed in custody. Police said they’re both members of the Aryan Knights, a white supremacist prison gang known for targeting incarcerated people of color.

Both men appeared before Twin Falls Magistrate Judge Benjamin Harmer Friday afternoon. Meade and Umphenour’s bonds were set at $2 million as part of the warrants that were issued for their arrests, Harmer said. Unless the men post bail, they’ll be extradited to Ada County to appear before another judge.

Before they were arrested, the suspects encountered Mauney in Juliaetta while he was walking his dogs Wednesday, state police said in a news release. Police said Mauney and his dogs were taken and driven eastbound in his silver 2019 Chrysler Pacifica. His body was found later near the Honda Civic that was stolen by the suspects in Boise and abandoned in Nez Perce County, according to the release.

The Nez Perce County Coroner’s Office called it an “apparent homicide” in a news release. State police said they don’t believe Mauney knew the suspects. A missing person alert was issued for Mauney on Thursday morning, the Lewiston Tribune reported.

The Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office found Henderson, the other victim, at his secluded home near Orofino around 8 p.m. Wednesday after someone called for a welfare check. Mauney’s dogs and a pair of shackles, believed to be Meade’s, were found at Henderson’s home, state police said.

Clearwater County Coroner Dennis Fuller told the Idaho Statesman by phone that Henderson’s estimated time of death was 1 p.m. Wednesday, several hours before deputies found him. His death was also ruled a homicide.

According to state police, Henderson may have been acquainted with the suspects, but it’s unclear to what extent.

A third suspect, Tonia Huber, 52, was arrested Thursday alongside Meade and Umphenour, according to Lori Stewart, a victim witness coordinator for Twin Falls County. Huber, of Filer, was charged with felony harboring a fugitive, eluding and possessing a controlled substance. Harmer set Huber’s bond at $505,000.

Stewart told the Statesman by phone that Huber was driving a vehicle at the time of her arrest but declined to clarify whether Huber in the same vehicle as the other two suspects. Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs said Huber was driving 100 miles an hour through Twin Falls neighborhoods in an attempt to further the escape of Meade and Umphenour.

“This is a case that spanned out of her allegedly harboring two fugitives who were on the run having escaped and possibly committed more violent crimes by the time they reached her,” Loebs said in court Friday.