Philadelphia Homicide Suspect Taken Into Custody in Cambridge

A joint operation by Cambridge Police, Massachusetts State Police, and Harvard University Police today led to the capture near Harvard Square of man wanted for killing his father with an assault rifle.

SOHAN PANJROLIA, 31, was wanted by the Philadelphia Police Department on charges of homicide in relation to a shooting which occurred August 3^rd in the 1900 block of Conwell Avenue in Philadelphia PA. Panjrolia is accused of killing his father with an assault rifle. An arrest warrant was issued for Panjrolia on the same day. The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in Philadelphia then adopted the case and began a fugitive investigation.

Late Monday evening, U.S. Marshals in Philadelphia developed information Panjrolia may have fled to Cambridge, Massachusetts and they contacted the Massachusetts State Police Commonwealth Fusion Center. Panjrolia is a 2013 graduate of the Harvard University Extension School and former Cambridge resident. The Cambridge Police, US Marshals in Boston and Philadelphia, and the Massachusetts State Police began a joint investigation into the suspect’s whereabouts.

Just after 12p, a Massachusetts State Police Trooper located a car suspected of having been operated by the suspect parked in the Elliott Street parking garage in Cambridge.

CPD, State Police and members of the US Marshals Task Force established positions around the vehicle and garage while awaiting additional support from tactical weapons units. Harvard University Police were also notified and additional officers subsequently responded to the area. 

Shortly after 12:30 p.m. a person matching  PANJROLIA’s description was observed by Cambridge and Harvard officers near the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Store located around the corner from the garage. They confirmed his identity and placed him under arrest as a fugitive from justice. The suspect was transported him to Cambridge PD for booking.

State Police and Cambridge Police detectives are currently working with Philadelphia Police detectives in furtherance of the investigation in Massachusetts.

This investigation included members of the Marshals Fugitive Task Force in Philadelphia, the HIDTA Fugitive Task Force in Boston, Cambridge Police Department, Massachusetts State Police, Harvard University Police, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, and MBTA Transit Police.