California Pastor Accused Of Setting Fire To Concord Church Shed To Warm Hands During Pray Vigil

CONCORD, NH — A pastor from California was arrested and held on arson and other charges after being accused of setting a church shed on fire to warm her hands during a trip to New Hampshire and Vermont on prayer vigils Monday afternoon.

Around 1:15 p.m., police were sent to the Wesley United Methodist Church on Clinton Street for a report of a shed fire and a woman assaulting an employee. The suspect was a woman of Asian descent, wearing a pink hat and driving a 2025 Mazda CX-5 crossover with a Massachusetts registration. Police learned later the vehicle was an Enterprise rental.

Concord fire and rescue teams were also requested to the scene to extinguish the fire.

A detective called the Concord Enterprise location, requesting information about the vehicle, and was told it was rented to Meiling Pauling Han, 59, of Debann Place in Rowland Heights, California, at Logan Airport three days before, an affidavit said. The vehicle, a detective said, was due to be returned to Columbia, South Carolina, on Nov. 4.

A BOLO (be-on-the-lookout) alert was sent out on the vehicle. A check on Han, the detective wrote, yielded no prior criminal history.

Editor's note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Concord Police Department and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains how to request the removal of a name from New Hampshire Patch police reports.

The state fire marshal was also requested to the scene.

An officer reported to the detective there was minor damage to the siding of a two-bay shed on the south corner of the church’s parking lot. A church staffer took a photo of the vehicle, which matched the vehicle's make and model, as well as the suspect, a short Asian woman.

“When confronted by staff at the church,” the detective wrote, “the female reportedly spoke in broken English and told the staff not to call the police.”

The suspect left in an unknown direction.

A witness reported to police they drove into the lot and saw a vehicle near the dumpster. Initially, the witness thought someone was illegally dumping items into the church dumpster, since this had been an issue in the past. When the witness walked to the other side of the dumpster, they saw a woman bent down “stuffing paper underneath the siding” of the shed and lighting it on fire. The flames were around 18 inches high, they said.

After seeing the witness, the suspect “stomped out the fire,” the detective wrote. The witness went into the church to call police, but the suspect followed, grabbed onto the witness’ sweatshirt, and said something to the effect of, “No, I’ll pay you,” an affidavit said.

The witness got away from the suspect, the suspect hung around for a few minutes, and then left, the report stated.

The detective began gathering more information and called Enterprise back to check on additional reservation details, such as a phone number. The employee, however, told police they could not view the information because the vehicle had just been returned about 10 minutes before at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.

“Shortly thereafter,” the detective wrote, “I was informed by (the Enterprise employee) that Meiling was currently inside the Enterprise Office at the airport and was requesting to rent another vehicle.”

Due to Han living out of state, her potential flight risk, and her returning the vehicle early, the detective requested Londonderry police detain her, which they did.

Han was Mirandized, assisted by a Mandarin interpreter, and agreed to speak with the detective, the report stated. She said she was a pastor, traveling as a missionary, and God told her to travel to pray, the report said. Han showed the detective a photo of her in front of the Vermont state house, which appeared to be taken earlier in the day, the detective wrote. Han showed the detective Bible passages describing “an ‘army of locusts’ descending upon Earth in a day of darkness and fire” and explained she was cold and needed to stop and pray, the affidavit said. So, she used the paper to set the fire to warm her hands and planned to rub the ashes on her head during her prayer, the detective said.

Han was accused of saying she did not believe the fire would cause damage since it was raining. She denied touching the witness and seemed “like she was willing to offer this individual an explanation as to why she lit the fire as an alternative to the police being called,” the report said.

A Londonderry police officer accused Han of possessing a lighter and said burnt paper was found in the vehicle during a protective sweep, the report said.

The detective said, while the damage to the shed “was minimal” and detected by staff quickly, the property is located in a residential area and posed a risk to others, including residents and firefighters, since fire can be “unpredictable” and “capable of spreading rapidly.”

Han was taken to the county jail after being processed on felony reckless conduct-deadly weapon, arson, and simple assault charges. A felony witness tampering charge was added after the arrest affidavit was published. The arson charge was also elevated to a felony. Han was arraigned by video in Concord District Court on Tuesday. She was granted a Mandarin interpreter and was detained.

A probable cause hearing is slated for Oct. 29.

According to records online, Han has several registered entities, including “Jesus Supernatural School,” “Repent Sackcloth Church,” and Case Dental & Medical Supply Inc., all general corporations, and Sqb LLC. She also holds patents for various dental brush heads.

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