A man who assaulted a New Westminster Police Department officer with a gun is going away for a long time.
Following a guilty plea, 37-year-old Steven Gordon Vollrath has been sentenced to five years in prison after assaulting a police officer with a firearm, along with several other offences.
In May of 2015, officers responded to a report of a male and female sleeping in a car in the 100 block of Royal Avenue. Officers spoke with the two in the vehicle, then returned to their police cruisers to check their information on the police database.
Upon returning to speak again with the two in the vehicle, the male pointed a handgun at one of the officers and pulled the trigger, police said.
“This is a clear case of how quickly circumstances can change in policing, and thankfully the gun did not fire after Mr. Vollrath pulled the trigger at the officer,” Sgt. Jeff Scott said. “Mr. Vollrath then fled the scene in his vehicle and managed to evade police after driving in a dangerous manner.”
On May 25, 2015, Vollrath was arrested in Canmore, Alta. As a result, Vollrath has been sentenced to five years for the offences in New West, but combined with a 12-year sentence in Alberta for other offences, he will remain the custody of Canada Corrections for 17 years.
“We are happy that this matter has now been concluded in court and that Mr. Vollrath has been held accountable for his actions,” stated acting Deputy Chief Paul Hyland. “We are incredibly proud of the bravery and professionalism displayed by all our members who were involved in this incident. I would also like to acknowledge all of the investigators who worked so very hard on bringing this case to its successful conclusion and also to Crown Counsel for their great work during the prosecution.”
Vollrath was guilty of assault peace officer with a weapon, personation with intent to avoid arrest, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, flight from a peace officer, fail to stop at an accident with another vehicle, and use imitation firearm while committing an indictable offense.
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