Suspect who prompted Vernon police action has long record of violent crimes

Photo: RCMP

A suspect wanted in the wake of a gun incident in Vernon over the weekend has a lengthy history with the law.

Michael Hans Bopfinger has violent offences dating back more than a decade.

On Saturday, RCMP and the Emergency Response Team surrounded an apartment building on 27th Avenue in Vernon, believing Bopfinger was inside.

Bopfinger wasn't in the building, but remains wanted for assault, uttering threats and a number of firearms-related offences.

Police showed up in force after a woman reported a handgun had been pointed at her during an altercation.

Despite an exhaustive search, police were not able to find the suspect.

In August 2017, Vancouver police warned the public that Bopfinger, a convicted sex offender, was unlawfully at large.

He had been on statutory release at a Vancouver area halfway house when he skipped town.

The former Lumby resident was handed an 11-year sentence in 2011 for sexual assaults on three Vernon sex trade workers in 2009.

He pleaded guilty to five counts of aggravated sexual assault, unlawful confinement and uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.

Bopfinger was ordered to provide a DNA sample for the sex offender registry and was banned from owning a firearm for life.

He became eligible for parole in 2019.

The women testified they were punched, slapped and strangled, forced into a white van and assaulted with a knife.

In 2020, he also faced charges in Kamloops for causing unnecessary pain and suffering to an animal.

He has also been charged with additional counts of uttering death threats and threats to burn, destroy or damage.

Bopfinger, 47, is described as five feet nine inches tall, weighs 300 pounds and has a shaved head, full beard and blue eyes.

RCMP stress that Bopfinger is considered violent and should not be approached. If you locate him, call 911.