A San Francisco jury on Tuesday found IT consultant Nima Momeni guilty of second-degree murder in the 2023 fatal stabbing of tech executive Bob Lee. The conviction, rooted in a personal dispute, followed initial fears that the incident reflected a surge in street crime across the city.
Acquitted of first-degree murder
The jury acquitted Momeni of first-degree murder but found him guilty of the lesser charge. The verdict, which was reached on Monday, was announced Tuesday after deliberations that began on December 4. Jurors had also considered a charge of first-degree murder with an enhancement for the use of a deadly weapon, as reported by NBC Bay Area.
Momeni remained unemotional as the verdict was read, according to reports. His lead attorney, who attended the proceedings via Zoom, showed a similar lack of visible reaction.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins confirmed that Momeni now faces a sentence of 16 years to life in prison.
Who is Nima Momeni?
Bob Lee, 43, the founder of the widely used money transfer service Cash App, was discovered early on April 4, 2023, near San Francisco’s downtown area with multiple stab wounds. Despite being rushed to a hospital, Lee succumbed to his injuries.
Audio recordings revealed that police were alerted by a dispatcher describing a man “screaming for help” and repeatedly saying ‘someone stabbed me.’
Lee’s death initially sparked significant controversy, with high-profile figures, including Elon Musk, weighing in. Musk criticized crime in San Francisco and questioned whether local officials were adequately addressing issues involving “repeat violent offenders.”
However, San Francisco police announced Momeni’s arrest just a week later. Momeni, 40, was not a repeat offender, and it was revealed that his sister was friends with Lee. Prosecutors accused Momeni of driving Lee to a secluded location and stabbing him three times with a 4-inch kitchen knife, one of the wounds piercing Lee’s heart.
The Dispute between Nima Momeni and Lee
According to prosecutors, the attack followed an argument between Momeni and Lee involving Momeni’s sister. On April 3, Momeni’s sister had called her brother, asking him to pick her up from an apartment belonging to a friend of Lee’s. She described the individual as her drug dealer and alleged she may have been sexually assaulted after consuming the drug GHB.
Court documents revealed that on the night of the stabbing, a witness saw Momeni questioning Lee about whether his sister had been using drugs or behaving inappropriately. Lee reportedly reassured Momeni that nothing untoward had occurred.
Momeni’s Defense
During the trial, Momeni testified that he acted in self-defense after Lee allegedly pulled a knife on him. He claimed that Lee had been using drugs that night and that the two stopped their car because Momeni thought Lee was about to vomit. Momeni recounted making a joke about preferring to spend his last night in San Francisco with family instead of at strip clubs, which he said angered Lee.
Momeni told jurors that Lee then pulled out a knife, prompting a struggle. Momeni claimed he acted in self-defense but did not realize Lee had been stabbed as Lee walked away from the scene.
