An escaped inmate and an alleged accomplice who are members of a white supremacist gang were arrested Thursday afternoon in Twin Falls, Idaho. after an extensive search.
Inmate Skyler Meade fled from a Boise medical center early Wednesday morning after inmate Nicholas Amphenol allegedly fired a gun at correctional officers who tried to take Meade back to prison.
Boise Police Chief Ron Weinger said in a news conference that the suspects were found in the Twin Falls area around 2 p.m. local time Thursday. After a brief vehicle pursuit, the suspects were taken into custody separately. There were no shots fired.
Idaho State Police Lt. Col. Sheldon Kelly said the suspects are being investigated as possible connections to two homicides in the past 24 hours. The suspects were spotted driving a Honda Civic, which police said belonged to one of the victims.
Both murder victims were male and were found in different counties. One was in Nez Perce County and the other was in Clearwater County, the city of Boise said in a press release Thursday afternoon.
State Department of Corrections Director Josh Tewalt said at a news conference Thursday that once Amphenol was identified as a potential suspect, investigators investigated his relationship with Meade.
Officials say both men are documented members of the white supremacist organization Aryan Knights and regularly reside in the same housing unit at a maximum security facility in Idaho. He was reportedly detained at the facility from December 2020 to January 2024. They also shared common acquaintances both in and out of custody.
Tewald said a suspect's gang involvement does not necessarily indicate that the escape was a “gang-sanctioned event,” and that the department is working to “mitigate the harm that gangs do” by using Aryan Knights in prison. He added that he was monitoring the group.
“Regardless of their actions, we work hard every day to stop organized criminal activity within our facilities,” Tewald said Thursday.
“Law enforcement believes the successful capture was the result of hundreds of tips from the public and a multi-law enforcement response,” the City of Boise said in a press release.
Tewalt said Wednesday that Meade had been “self-inflicted” on Tuesday night and that officers subsequently determined he needed to be transported off-scene for care.
Umphenol attacked and shot two police officers at St. Alphonso Regional Medical Center around 2:15 a.m. Wednesday, officials said. A third person, later identified as a corrections officer, was shot and killed by a responding Boise police officer.
Tewald announced Thursday that one of the injured correctional officers was released from the hospital Wednesday night, but two other injured correctional officers remain hospitalized.
“They're stable, they're improving, and I think today's news lifts their spirits,” Tewald said, calling the incident “a tough test for correctional families.” .