BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho man who prosecutors said ambushed and shot correctional officers at a Boise hospital in a plot to help a fellow white supremacist gang member escape from prison was sentenced to life behind bars on Friday. Nicholas Umphenour, 29, pleaded guilty earlier this year to several felonies, including aiding and abetting escape and aggravated assault and battery on law enforcement officers in connection with the March 20 attack at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. Umphenour's attorney, Bryan Marx, said Umphenour is also expected face charges in a separate case connected to death of man who police say was killed while Umphenour and the escaped inmate, Skylar Meade, were on the run.
Fourth District Judge Nancy Baskin described Umphenour as an unremorseful “career criminal” and said he would not be eligible for parole for at least 40 years. “You present a clear danger to the community, and I'm not convinced that any rehabilitation will reduce your risk,” Baskin said. “The only thing I can do is give you a very long sentence.
” Umphenour met Meade in prison and both men were members of a white supremacist gang, Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Heather Reilly said. They grew close while at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, with Umphenour describing Meade as “like family,” in recorded phone calls. Umphenour was released from prison in January, and it wasn't long before he agreed to help Meade plot his escape, Reilly said.
Meade had a co.