A man who attempted to shoot a New Westminster police officer almost five years ago has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Steven Gordon Vollrath, 37, pleaded guilty to charges of assaulting a police officer with a weapon, flight from a police officer, failure to stop at the scene of an accident with another vehicle, personation with intent to avoid arrest, use of an imitation firearm while commiting an indictable offence, and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

The charges stemmed from an incident in May 2015 after New Westminster police responded to a report of a man and woman sleeping in a car. After speaking to two people and radioing in information from their cruisers, police returned to speak with the people. That was when the man produced a handgun, pointed it at an officer, and pulled the trigger.

The gun did not fire, and the man then fled in his vehicle.

Later that month, Vollrath was arrested in Canmore, Alberta, where he had committed other offences for which he was subsequently sentenced to 12 years in prison. The five years will be added to the 12 years the man is currently serving in Alberta.

“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 release. “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.”