Final suspect in Boise hospital ambush sentenced to prison. What the judge ruled
A woman who fled from law enforcement with an escaped prisoner last year has been sentenced to prison — marking the closure of the final criminal case surrounding what police called a “brazen” and “violent hospital ambush.
Tonia Huber, a 53-year-old woman from Filer, Idaho, was driving Skylar Meade when they were arrested in Twin Falls in March 2024. The police chase followed a statewide manhunt after Meade and his co-conspirator, 29-year-old Nicholas Umphenour, attacked correctional officers at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. The men, who knew each other from prison, coordinated the escape to free Meade from custody at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.
Falling in line with an agreed-upon plea deal, 5th Judicial District Judge Bill Hancock, who presides over cases in Twin Falls County, sentenced Huber to a maximum of 10 years in prison, according to a judgment of conviction reviewed by the Idaho Statesman. She’ll be eligible for parole after four years and will receive credit for the 352 days she’s already spent in the Twin Falls County Jail.
Huber’s mother described her daughter as someone with a “big heart” who tries to help everyone, according to a letter of support reviewed by the Statesman.
“She helps the good and the bad, and that has caused her to be in trouble at times, but has helped many people with they needed help,” her mother wrote.
In exchange for Huber pleading guilty to two felonies, possession of a controlled substance and harboring a wanted felon, the Twin Falls County Prosecutor’s Office dropped a remaining felony charge of attempting to elude a police officer.
Huber also agreed to testify against the men she helped. If Huber refuses to cooperate with prosecutors, they’ll rescind the deal.
Roughly 36 hours after the hospital attack that left three correctional officers injured, law enforcement was surveilling a residential area in Filer, about 15 minutes west of Twin Falls, when one of the officers attempted to stop a vehicle occupied by Huber and Meade, according to a Twin Falls Police Department affidavit.
The pair fled from police in a Chevy pickup truck until they drove into a Twin Falls Walgreens parking lot off of U.S. 93, where an officer struck the vehicle and arrested them. Umphenour was arrested separately on the same day.
One other person, Tia Garcia, was tied to the attack at the hospital. She was sentenced in December to up to 25 years in prison, with eligibility for parole after 10 years.
Before being apprehended by law enforcement, Meade and Umphenour allegedly killed two people in North Idaho. They’ve been sentenced to prison for their crimes in Ada County and now face first-degree murder charges in Nez Perce County. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty against them if they are convicted.
