“Man Arrested After Police Helicopter Spots Reckless Driving in Abbotsford and Chilliwack”
A man with a long criminal record has now been charged with allegedly driving recklessly in front of police in Abbotsford and Chilliwack in 2021 and then being caught with meth and fentanyl.
Abbotsford Police Department (APD) media officer Sergeant Paul Walker said the charges against Jason Hipfen, 47, were approved on Tuesday (February 7).
Walker said the incident occurred on Oct. 12, 2021, when patrol officers received a report of an erratic driver on Highway 1 entering the Abbotsford area.
He said officers found the vehicle but the driver did not stop for them. Police helicopter Air 1 followed the vehicle while ground units broke away.
“Over the next 90 minutes, the vehicle was observed crossing numerous stop signs, unsafely overtaking cars and forcing oncoming vehicle traffic onto the hard shoulder while speeding,” he said.
The driver then stopped in Chilliwack where APD officers – with the support of the Lower Mainland Police Dog Service and the Chilliwack RCMP – took Himpen into custody.
Walker said a search turned up 370 grams of fentanyl and methamphetamine combined, the equivalent of about 800 single doses.
Himpfen has now been charged with possession for the purpose of human trafficking, evading police and dangerous driving.
“This offender, who refused to stop for police, showed a negligent disregard for the citizens of Abbotsford and Chilliwack,” said APD Insp. Kevin Murray.
“We are fortunate to have had the support of Air 1 who grasped the scope of the dangerous driving in question. The significant amount of drugs seized by AbbyPD officers would otherwise have ended up on our streets, endangering even more lives than those his reckless driving has endangered.”
The incident became the subject of a civil foreclosure lawsuit in February 2022 for the provincial government to seize the 2021 Kia Stinger that Himpfen owned.
RELATED: Civil forfeiture claim filed over vehicle used by former Abbotsford mobster
The Civil Forfeiture Office claimed the vehicle was purchased with crime proceeds and used for unlawful activity – starting with an alleged attempted hijack at a grocery store in Langley and ending with reckless driving 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 of Langley single mother Mandy Johnson in Abbotsford.
RELATED: Man acquitted in 2010 of shooting Mandy Johnson
Himpfen was at the scene with gang leader Gavin Grewal, who himself was the victim of a targeted killing in North Vancouver on December 22, 2017.
The judge in the case found that there was insufficient evidence to prove Himpfen was the shooter.
In July 2021, the APD issued a public warning about him, saying he was involved in the Lower Mainland gang conflict and posed a “significant risk” to the community and everyone associated with him.
RELATED: Abbotsford Police warn of man involved in gang conflict
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