Quinxuan Pan, accused in the homicide of Yale graduate student Kevin Jiang, was being held in lieu of $20 million Thursday after being arraigned on a murder charge.
Pan appeared Thursday in state Superior Court in New Haven. He was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Montgomery, Ala., last week and extradited to Connecticut.
Pan attended his arraignment virtually in a gray shirt and gray shorts Thursday, and at one point appeared to lean forward to better hear Judge Brian Fischer.
Prosecutor Stacey Miranda alleged Pan, 30, had been renting an apartment in Alabama under a false name and was found to have been in possession of seven cellphones, seven SIM cards and his father’s passport.
She argued that Pan is a flight risk after having fled the state and engaged “a nationwide manhunt” that involved various federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
Miranda said Pan’s parents have “very substantial financial affects” and bid on a home in North Carolina as recently as last week; she argued for bail to be set at $50 million.
Bill Gerace, the attorney retained by Pan’s parents, who live in Malden, Mass., said he had 30 minutes to meet with Pan and described him as “an engaging, very bright, nice man.” and “a pleasure to deal with.”
Pan’s parents were not in court as the arraignment was announced Thursday and they were not expecting it, he said.
Gerace initially said he had expected Pan could post bail “if it’s reasonable.” Gerace said he was retained Thursday, the day after Pan’s arrest.
Bail, however, was set at $20 million, which Gerace later told reporters he does not expect Pan to be able to post. He called the $20 million “an unofficial record in the state of Connecticut.”
Fischer transferred the case to the Superior Court Part A docket, where more serious cases are heard. Pan’s next scheduled court date is June 1.
Gerace said he and Pan didn’t discuss the last few months when they met.
Gerace said Pan arrived in the U.S. in 2007 from China and is a full citizen. He said Pan has “got an IQ that’s stratospheric.”
Jiang, 26, was fatally shot on Lawrence Street in the city’s East Rock neighborhood on Feb. 6. He had become engaged the week before that to Zion Perry, a fellow Yale graduate student.
New Haven police announced Pan’s extradition back to Connecticut shortly before 9 a.m. Thursday to face a murder charge, stemming from a warrant authorities obtained in connection with Jiang’s death.
Police believe Pan was “in the area” at the time Jiang was killed, former Chief Otoniel Reyes previously said.
A police report from Mansfield, Mass., indicated Pan allegedly traveled to Connecticut from Massachusetts in a stolen car the day of Jiang’s homicide. North Haven police towed the vehicle later that night after it was found with a flat tire at a junkyard on Universal Drive. At the time, Pan was behind the wheel and had a valid license and proper insurance, North Haven police officials said.
New Haven police named Pan as a person of interest in the case on Feb. 10. Pan was seen in the early morning hours of Feb. 11 driving in Georgia with family members. By late February, police secured a warrant to charge Pan with the slaying.
Pan was enrolled as a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science since 2014. The university said he earned his undergraduate degree in June 2014. He last was living in Malden, Mass.
Authorities have not yet said whether there is any link between Jiang and Pan.
Perry, Jiang’s fiancee, also attended MIT as an undergraduate student and earned her degree in biological engineering in 2020.
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