Cops: Pan stole car to come to Connecticut
‘Person of interest’ in New Haven slaying
NEW HAVEN — Qinxuan Pan, named a person of interest in the killing of a Yale graduate student, allegedly stole an SUV, changed his cellphone number and dropped out of contact with his family ahead of the incident, according to a police report.
The Attleboro District Courthouse in Massachusetts released the report, written by Mansfield, Mass., police to secure a warrant for Pan’s arrest.
In the report, Officer Joshua Ellender said a salesman at a local dealership had reported a car stolen at around 7:30 p.m. Feb. 6, the day Kevin Jiang was killed.
According to the report, the salesman “explained that Qinxuan Pan walked in today and wanted to test drive” a blue GMC Terrain SUV and bring it to his mechanic for inspection before potentially buying it. Pan left with the vehicle around 11 a.m., according to the report.
The salesman asked Pan around 5:30 p.m. when he would be returning the vehicle. Pan initially asked for more time, saying he had a family emergency, then stopped responding to texts and calls after being told he needed to return the car by closing time at the dealership.
Ellender asked Malden police to check whether the vehicle was at Pan’s residence in that community.
Pan’s mother reportedly told Malden police that Pan had “changed his cell phone number and wouldn’t tell them where he was,” but that he would return the vehicle.
A call from Hearst Connecticut
Media to a number for Pan’s home in Malden Friday was unsuccessful, as the line had been disconnected.
The salesman also vouched for Pan, saying he believed he wasn’t stealing the car, as he seemed like a squared-away individual.
Ellender thus “delayed entering the vehicle as stolen and gave Qinxuan a chance to contact me or to return the vehicle,” he said in the report.
At 10:30 p.m., he checked on the matter; Pan had not returned the SUV. He entered the vehicle as stolen at 10:40 p.m., he said in the report.
He was then notified at 10:45 p.m. that North Haven police had reported “they had just towed the vehicle,” as Pan had gotten it stuck on railroad tracks while driving it in a scrap yard in Connecticut.
Pan allegedly had attached a commercial Connecticut license plate to the vehicle, replacing the dealer plate, according to the report.
In asking for the warrant, Ellender noted that Pan was believed to be potentially involved in “a serious criminal case” in New Haven, had concealed the vehicle’s identity, and “fled to another state” before New Haven police arrived to question him.
A nationwide manhunt has since ensued for Pan, considered a person of interest in Jiang’s death, with a $10,000 reward.
He reportedly last was seen in Georgia, according to the U.S. Marshals Office for Connecticut, and could be staying in the Duluth or Brookhaven areas of that state.
U.S. Marshal Matthew Duffy on Friday said there had been no developments in the search.
Jiang’s body was found around 8:30 p.m. Feb. 6 on Lawrence Street near its intersection with Nash Street, according to New Haven police.
Pan reportedly checked into the Best Western Hotel on Washington Avenue in North Haven around 10:30 p.m., roughly two hours after Jiang was killed.
Jiang was engaged to be married to Zion Perry; his fellow students and members of Trinity Baptist Church, where he volunteered, are raising funds to support his family.
Perry attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the same time as Pan, who is a graduate student there. Photos of the two of them interacting have been posted online; Perry has not returned requests for comment regarding them.
Police believe Pan was “in the area” at the time Jiang was killed, New Haven Police Chief Otoniel Reyes has said.
The department considers Pan a person of interest; at this time, he is not officially suspected of committing the shooting.
New Haven police previously said that anyone who knows of Pan’s whereabouts should use “extreme caution” and is asked to call the department at 203-946-6304.