Last year, a 40-year-old technology consultant was convicted of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee in San Francisco.
The sentence read Tuesday came more than a year after Lee was found bleeding to death on a street in downtown San Francisco.
The jury heard more than six weeks of testimony about a drug addict, sexual assaults and ultimately an early morning stabbing in San Francisco in April 2023.
During closing arguments, prosecutors played the 911 call Lee made after Nima Momeni stabbed him and left him to die in the street, the Associated Press reported.
The jury heard Lee repeatedly plead for help on the phone.
At about 2:30 a.m. on April 4, 2023, 43-year-old Li was found bleeding profusely in the city center and later died of his injuries.
Momeni stabbed Lee three times near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as Lee introduced his sister, Qajar Momeni, to a man who allegedly injected her with a drug known as date The rape drug was GHB, which made him feel uneasy. Khazar Momeni testified that she was drugged and sexually assaulted by Lee’s friend Jeremy Boivin, who prosecutors described as a drug dealer, ABC7 News reported. Boivin has not been charged in the case, according to authorities.
The criminal trial began on Oct. 14, closing a chapter in the killings that shocked the Bay Area. The jury reached its verdict after seven days of deliberation.
Early reports of Lee’s death sparked fears and criticism of rampant crime in San Francisco, although the narrative surrounding the incident quickly changed after police announced Momenei’s arrest and provided details of a possible motive.
Assistant District Atty. Dane Reinstedt summarized the events leading up to the stabbing during his closing argument Monday.
Hours before the stabbing, Lee met Nima Momene at Momene’s sister’s apartment on Mission Street, and Momene asked Lee what happened. Nima Momene then grabbed a paring knife from the kitchen and went out with Lee.
Footage from the elevator showed the men exiting the building around 2 a.m. and driving off in Momeni’s BMW.
Momeni testified on the witness stand at the trial that Lee attacked him after he made a “bad joke” in the car, the Associated Press reported.
“I feared for my life,” Momenei told the jury.
Momeni testified that he drove over a pothole and Lee spilled his beer, so he parked on a quiet section of the Bay Bridge. According to Lee’s testimony, Momenei joked that Lee should spend his last night exploring the city with his family instead of trying to find a strip club.
Momeni’s defense attorney claimed that Lee became upset and attacked Momeni, forcing his client to use his Krav Maga martial arts skills to defend himself, the Associated Press reported. Momeni’s lawyer told the jury in closing arguments that Momeni was unaware that Lee had been stabbed.
But prosecutors said the stabbing was precise, clean and not a gesture of self-defense.
Reinstedt said Momeni did not call police to report that Lee had attacked him with a knife, not even after reports that Lee was found in the street with stab wounds and later died.
Alcohol, ketamine and cocaine were found in Lee’s system, according to the autopsy report.
Defense attorneys claimed Lee had been drinking heavily for several days on drugs, which could explain why he became agitated and violent the night he died.
During his closing arguments, defense attorney Saam Zangeneh played surveillance video showing Lee and a friend outside The Battery, a private social club in San Francisco. In the film, Lee allegedly snorted drugs from an object that Zangane claimed was the knife he used to murder himself, ABC 7 reported.
In response, Asst. Dist. Atty. Omid Talai asked the jury to consider why Lee’s DNA was not found on the item if it was believed to be the knife used in the killing. Prosecutors said only Momeni’s DNA was found on the knife.
Prosecutors showed video of Lee before he was stabbed. At one point, his jacket was opened and Reinstedt said he didn’t see a knife. Another video, though blurry, showed people on the bridge but showed Momeni as the aggressor, according to the Associated Press.
