Nima Momeni, accused killer of Cash App Founder Bob Lee, denied bail again
The alleged killer of Cash App founder Bob Lee was denied bail a second time after he requested to be released ahead of his murder trial.
San Francisco Judge Bruce Chan denied the request at a hearing Monday — meaning Nima Momeni will remain behind bars for at least the duration of the trial.
Prosecutors warned the court that Momeni was a danger to the public and said his own family members called him a “lunatic and psychotic,” according to his cell phone records, the San Francisco Standard reported.
The tech consultant is accused of stabbing Lee, a 43-year-old father of two, on a secluded street in the city’s downtown area during the early morning hours of April 4.
Lee was discovered unresponsive and badly bleeding and died at a hospital hours later.
Momeni’s attorneys argued that he was not a threat to the community or a flight risk in their motion for release, in which they offered a $250,000 bond, as well as several conditions including a mandatory electronic monitoring device, the surrender of his passport and drug and alcohol testing.
They also bizarrely said that their client appeared to be “not good at committing murder” if the prosecution’s version of the events was to be believed, according to the Standard.
They argued that a murderer who planned out the slaughter would never have let Lee hold onto his cell phone following the stabbing, the local outlet reported.
The cold-blooded killing allegedly stemmed from an argument between Lee and Momeni over Momeni’s sister, Khazar “Tina” Elyassnia — whom Lee was with the night before.
Momeni reportedly confronted Lee about their night together and asked if they had been “doing drugs or anything inappropriate” together, according to prosecutors.
The men were spotted leaving the Millennium Tower — where Elyassnia lives with her husband, a prominent plastic surgeon — together in surveillance footage captured shortly before Lee was stabbed and left for dead.
Momeni then allegedly drove Lee to the secluded street where he butchered him with a kitchen knife, police said.
Around the time of the attack, Elyassnia texted Lee to ask if he was OK because “nima came wayyyyyy down hard on you,” according to phone records collected in the course of the investigation.
The accused killer faces life in prison if convicted and is due back in court on Oct. 25.
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