Jury returns verdict in Nima Momeni’s trial for the murder of Bob Lee

SAN FRANCISCO – A jury in San Francisco reached a verdict Monday afternoon in the trial of Nima Momeni, the man charged in the fatal stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee.

The verdict will be read at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court

Jury deliberations began on December 4, following the trial that began in October.

Bob Lee’s death in April 2023

Shortly after his death, Lee’s murder under the Bay Bridge in April 2023 was seen as something of a referendum on the state of crime in San Francisco, as it was initially believed that Lee was the victim of a random attacker. But after Momeni was arrested for allegedly attacking a fellow tech worker, the entire storyline changed.

Review of the process

The six-week trial cast a sometimes unwelcome spotlight on the boisterous atmosphere of Lee and his friends, many of whom admitted during the trial to using cocaine and other drugs. However, they insisted that Lee was never aggressive, even under the influence of drugs, and that he was a “teddy bear” who defused conflict.

Prosecutors said it was Momeni who stabbed Lee three times, including once in the heart, driven by anger over his belief that Lee’s alleged dealer had given Momeni’s sister Khazar rape drugs and groped her. Prosecutors said Lee’s blood was found on the blade and Momeni’s DNA was found on the handle.

Khazar Momeni took the stand in October. Their answers were often marked by hazy memories of their drug use.

Momeni’s statement

Momeni himself also took the stand, saying it was Lee who attacked him after Momeni joked that Lee should be with his family instead of going to a strip club, an idea that had been expressed between the two. Momeni was often confrontational with prosecutor Omid Talai, peppering him with questions and interrogating him. Talai suggested to the jury that if Momeni could be so aggressive in court, he could be far more threatening on the street.

Momeni had five defense attorneys, many of them prominent Miami lawyers.

Defense witnesses included retired San Francisco police Inspector Steven Pomatto, who told jurors it was a reasonable explanation that Lee was the original attacker. But Pomatto’s reputation was called into question after prosecutors presented evidence that Pomatto lied in 2004 when he applied to join the department’s tactical team, falsely claiming he had been a Navy SEAL.

Momeni had insisted that it was Lee who attacked him with a knife and that Momeni was reacting in self-defense. In a bombshell moment during closing arguments, his lawyers played surveillance video for jurors that they said showed Lee using a small knife to snort cocaine with a friend, the same knife they said Lee used to kill Momeni had made a speech.

But ultimately, Talai and prosecutor Dane Reinstedt urged jurors to reject the defense’s explanations for the incident and urged them to use common sense. They said only Momeni had a clear motive for attacking Lee.

Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. Email Henry at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan