Umphenour faces injury to jail charges

Nicholas D. Umphenour has been charged with felony injury to a jail after damaging a phone and window at the Nez Perce County Jail.

The 29-year-old was charged after an alleged incident that took place Feb. 13. A deputy was in the G block of the jail where Umphenour is the sole occupant and saw a damaged window by the entry door. When the deputy inspected the damage he noticed the phone handle attached to the phone was no longer there, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Footage was pulled from a camera in the area that allegedly showed Umphenour using the phone. Several seconds later he is allegedly seen using his leg and arm to break the handset from the phone mounted on the wall. Umphenour then allegedly throws the phone at the window next to the exit door and the window appears to fracture. The damage was reported to cost $2,500 to $3,500, according to the affidavit.

The maximum penalty for injuring a jail is five years in prison as well as a $10,000 fine. Umphenour was released on his own recognizance for the charge, but remains held without bond for a first-degree murder charge. An arrest warrant for Umphenour was issued and returned Friday for the injury to jail charge.

Umphenour and Skylar W. Meade, 32, were both indicted by a grand jury for first-degree murder in the death of 83-year-old James Mauney, of Juliaetta, after the two planned a prison break in Boise in March. Both face the death penalty.