A man with a long criminal record has now been charged for allegedly driving recklessly from police in Abbotsford and Chilliwack in 2021 and then being caught with meth and fentanyl.
Sgt. Paul Walker, media officer with the Abbotsford Police Department (APD), said charges were approved Tuesday (Feb. 7) against Jason Himpfen, 47.
Walker said the incident took place Oct. 12, 2021, when patrol officers received a report of an erratic driver on Highway 1 entering the Abbotsford area.
He said officers located the vehicle but the driver failed to stop for them. The Air 1 police helicopter followed the vehicle, while the ground units broke off.
“During the next 90 minutes, the vehicle was observed running numerous stop signs, passing cars unsafely and forcing oncoming vehicle traffic onto the shoulder of the road, while driving at excessive speeds,” he said.
The driver then stopped in Chilliwack, where APD officers – with the assistance of the Lower Mainland Police Dog Service and the Chilliwack RCMP – took Himpfen into custody.
Walker said a search turned up a combined 370 grams of fentanyl and methamphetamine, equating to approximately 800 individual doses.
Himpfen has now been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, flight from police, and dangerous driving.
“This offender, who refused to stop for police, exhibited careless disregard for the citizens of Abbotsford and Chilliwack,” said APD Insp. Kevin Murray.
“We are fortunate to have had the assistance of Air 1, which captured the scope of the dangerous driving in question. The sizeable quantity of drugs seized by AbbyPD officers would have otherwise hit our streets and imperilled even more lives than the ones he imperilled through his reckless driving behaviour.”
The incident became the subject of a civil forfeiture claim in February 2022 for the provincial government to seize the 2021 Kia Stinger that Himpfen owned.
RELATED: Civil forfeiture claim filed for vehicle used by former Abbotsford gangster
The Civil Forfeiture Office alleged that the vehicle was purchased through the proceeds of crime and was used in unlawful activity – starting with an alleged attempted kidnapping at at a Langley convenience store and ending with the reckless drive through Abbotsford and Chilliwack.
Himpfen’s name was also in the news in November 2018, when he was acquitted of second-degree murder in the 2010 shooting death in Abbotsford of single mom Mandy Johnson of Langley.
RELATED: Man acquitted in 2010 shooting death of Mandy Johnson
Himpfen had been at the scene with gang leader Gavin Grewal, who himself was the victim of a targeted killing in North Vancouver on Dec. 22, 2017.
The judge in the case found there wasn’t enough evidence to prove that Himpfen was the shooter.
In July 2021, the APD issued a public warning about Himpfen, saying he was involved in the Lower Mainland gang conflict and that he posed a “significant risk” to the community and anyone associating with him.
RELATED: Abbotsford Police issue warning about man involved in gang conflict
vikki.hopes@abbynews.com
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