CNN
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Nima Momeni, the person accused of killing Money App founder Bob Lee in San Francisco shortly after an encounter, shall be arraigned Tuesday on a homicide cost.
Lee, who cofounded the cellular fee service supplier Money App, was stabbed to demise within the Rincon Hill neighborhood early on April 4.
Authorities have mentioned Momeni, 38, of Emeryville, California, and Lee knew one another they usually had been in a automobile shortly earlier than the stabbing.
California Secretary of State information point out that Momeni has been the proprietor of an IT enterprise. He has been held with out bail since his arrest almost two weeks in the past.
The district lawyer’s workplace has indicated that the alleged murder might have been premeditated.
“It is a one who was in his automobile with a kitchen knife,” San Francisco District Legal professional Brooke Jenkins mentioned earlier this month. “That’s not one thing most of us carry round always with us.”
Momeni’s lawyer Paula Canny told station KNTV almost two weeks in the past that there’s a “a lot higher again story” than what has been disclosed. “There’s rather more to this than meets the attention.” She informed the station her shopper is just not responsible of homicide.
CNN has reached out to Canny for remark concerning the homicide cost.
Paperwork from the district lawyer’s workplace have laid out what authorities say preceded the stabbing.
A movement to detain doc cites a witness interviewed by police and safety digicam footage, providing an in depth timeline of the place Lee and Momeni had been.
A witness, described as an in depth buddy of Lee’s, mentioned he went over to an house after being invited by Lee on April 3, the place Lee was ingesting with a lady later recognized as Momeni’s sister, the doc states.
The witness informed police the lady was married however her “relationship was presumably in jeopardy,” and the witness was uncertain whether or not the lady and Lee had an intimate relationship, in line with the doc. Lee later informed the witness that they had been going to go to his resort room, the place he invited the lady however she declined.
Whereas on the resort room, the witness mentioned Lee was having a dialog with Momeni, which concerned Momeni saying he was choosing up his sister from the house Lee and the witness had been beforehand at, in line with the doc. Momeni requested Lee “whether or not his sister was doing medicine or something inappropriate,” the doc states. Lee had informed Momeni nothing inappropriate occurred, in line with the doc.
After the dialog with Momeni, Lee and the witness went to Lee’s house till about 12:30 a.m. on April 4, when Lee left, the doc says.
Surveillance footage exhibits Momeni arriving at his sister’s house constructing in a white BMW round 8:30 p.m. on April 3, and later exhibits Lee getting into the constructing round 12:39 a.m. on April 4. Somewhat after 2 a.m., safety footage exhibits Lee and Momeni getting into an elevator collectively and moving into Momeni’s BMW. Further footage from the world exhibits the 2 driving within the automotive collectively.
Video then exhibits the BMW drive to a “darkish and secluded space” on Essential Road, simply out of view for the video to see the interplay between the 2 males, per the doc.
Ultimately, the 2 topics, who’re unidentifiable by their faces however appear to be sporting the identical clothes, seem again in body. After about 5 minutes, the topic sporting a white-colored prime, according to what Momeni seemed to be sporting, “out of the blue transfer(s) towards the opposite topic,” the doc says. The 2 topics then separate.
The topic in dark-colored clothes, who authorities imagine to be Lee, walks northbound, whereas the topic within the light-colored clothes walks south and stops alongside a fence, the place a knife was in the end recovered, the doc says. The BMW then “leaves at a excessive fee of pace,” the doc states.
An post-mortem later discovered Lee was “stabbed three separate occasions, as soon as within the hip and twice within the chest,” in line with the paperwork. One of many stab wounds “instantly penetrated” Lee’s coronary heart, inflicting his demise.
A kitchen knife was discovered close to the scene, District Legal professional Jenkins mentioned in a information convention, including the division had “proof past an inexpensive doubt that (Momeni) dedicated homicide.”
On April 11, investigators discovered a textual content message from Momeni’s sister to Lee that confirmed the sister checking in on Lee, in line with the movement to detain doc. The textual content message, per the doc, said: “Simply needed to ensure your doing okay Trigger I do know nima got here wayyyyyy down arduous on you And thanks for being such an aesthetic man dealing with it with class.”
In the meantime, further particulars in an August 2022 incident involving a lady and Momeni had been made obtainable in a police report, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday.
Police in Emeryville cited and launched Momeni on a misdemeanor battery cost after a lady reported he attacked her, the newspaper reported, citing paperwork obtained in a public information request. CNN has requested the paperwork and reached out to Emeryville police.
The lady, whose identify was redacted from the report, and Momeni reportedly bought into an argument the afternoon of August 1, 2022, in line with the police report.
Momeni denied the allegation when questioned by responding officers.
The lady informed police that Momeni was liable to conduct shifts, the Chronicle reported, telling them that “one minute he shall be nice and the following he’ll go off for no motive.”
In an announcement to CNN on Monday, Momeni’s lawyer Canny mentioned, “It’s only a police report.”
“There was no arrest. There was no case filed – the Alameda County District Legal professional refused to prosecute,” she mentioned.
The Alameda County District Legal professional’s workplace confirmed to CNN final week it didn’t file expenses however declined to say why or give extra element.
Within the police report, the lady mentioned she met Momeni every week earlier and he allowed her to remain on his sofa in trade for cleansing the residence, the Chronicle says, including she informed officers that she and Momeni weren’t courting.
The lady informed police that earlier within the day, she had been within the loft’s kitchen when Momeni got here downstairs and yelled for her to gather her belongings and depart, the Chronicle studies.
“Momeni forcefully grabbed her proper higher arm and her proper facet waist space,” Officer Johnson wrote within the report, in line with the Chronicle. “He then pushed her towards a counter.”
He denied the allegation to police, in line with the newspaper, and a roommate informed police that he didn’t see violence and that the lady seemed to be the aggressor.
Momeni informed officers he needed to pursue expenses towards the lady for pushing him the day earlier than once they had additionally argued, the report says, in line with the Chronicle.