Man sentenced to 5 years in prison for attempted shooting of New West police officer

A man has been sentenced to five years in prison for the attempted shooting of a New Westminster police officer in 2015.

Steven Gordon Vollrath, 37, pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer with a weapon and other charges, including fleeing from the officer and using an imitation firearm.

“We are happy that this matter has now been concluded in court and that Mr. Vollrath has been held accountable for his actions,” acting Deputy Chief Paul Hyland said in a statement.

Vollrath and a woman were found sleeping in a vehicle by police in the 100-block of Royal Avenue in May of 2015.

After speaking with the pair and going back to their police cruisers, the officers returned for additional questioning — only to be faced with Vollrath pointing a handgun at one of the officers.

Vollrath pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire.

“This is a clear case of how quickly circumstances can change in policing,” Sgt. Jeff Scott said.

Vollrath then fled the scene and evaded police while driving “in a dangerous manner,” Scott added.

Police arrested Vollrath in Canmore, Alta., on May 25, 2015.

His five-year sentence for the attempted shooting will be added to an existing 12-year sentence Vollrath received in November 2016 for a bizarre and violent incident in Edmonton.

Vollrath was one of three people who, in January 2015, dressed as a police officer and went to a southwest Edmonton home, demanding Richard Suter come with them.

Suter had been behind the wheel of an SUV that crashed into a south Edmonton restaurant patio in May 2013, killing a two-year-old boy.

2:03 Steven Vollrath sentenced to 12 years

Vollrath and the other two men drove Suter to a nearby field, where they cut off one of his thumbs and left him wearing only a bathrobe.

At the time of his Edmonton sentencing, Vollrath had 10.5 years remaining after credit for time served.