Search Articles
SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — Sentencing for Nima Momeni, the tech worker accused of stabbing and killing Cash App founder Bob Lee underneath San Francisco’s Bay Bridge in April 2023, was delayed on Wednesday morning after Momeni’s new lawyer requested more time to get up to speed with the case.
Attorney Daniel Shriro, who now represents Momeni, said he needed time to review “all of the transcripts” in the case before sentencing takes place.
The judge, although amenable to the delay, said that it could take some time for Momeni’s attorneys to get the full transcripts because of a nationwide court reporter shortage, noting the situation was “unfortunate, but completely understandable.”
“I need to make sure this doesn’t slide unnecessarily while still making sure Mr. Momeni gets the representation that he is entitled to,” San Francisco Superior Court Judge Alexandra Gordon said.
Even so, the judge pushed for a status check from the defense lawyers sooner rather than later.
“I am not going to wait six months just to find out what’s happening," Gordon told attorneys.
During the hearing, Momeni sat between Shriro and another new attorney, Boris Bindman, wearing a bright orange sweater and taking notes.
The next hearing in the case will be a status check on Aug. 22, where Momeni’s counsel will check in with the judge concerning their progress.
A jury found Momeni guilty of second-degree murder in San Francisco Superior Court after a trial in late 2024. He is currently facing a sentence of 16 years to life in prison.
At trial, prosecutors said Momeni killed Lee in a fit of rage because Lee had been doing drugs with Momeni’s sister, Khazar Momeni, and introduced her to a drug dealer who sexually assaulted her.
Nima Momeni’s defense team said he acted in self-defense and that Lee was on a multi-day drug bender using cocaine, alcohol and other substances that made him unstable and unpredictable in the days before the stabbing.
Testifying in his own defense during the trial, Nima Momeni said that while he and Lee were alone underneath the Bay Bridge on the night of Lee’s death, he told a “bad joke” that set Lee off. Lee began circling him, he testified, and pulled a knife out of his jacket pocket. Momeni said he disarmed Lee before fleeing the scene and did not know Lee was injured when he fled.
However, logical inconsistencies abounded in Nima Momeni’s account of the events. Prosecutors grilled him on the “bad joke” explanation and asked him why he didn’t call the police when he learned Lee had died.
Government witnesses said at trial that Lee was stabbed three times, including one wound that punctured his heart. They showed grainy video of the stabbing and street surveillance footage of a wounded Lee, bounding up Main Street before collapsing.
Forensic experts testified that only Nima Momeni’s DNA was on the handle of the knife — and only Lee’s DNA was on the blade.
Khazar Momeni, the defendant’s sister, also testified during the trial. Her brother and Lee were last seen leaving her Millennium Tower residence the night Lee was killed. She said Lee was not himself and was heavily intoxicated in the days and hours before his death, bolstering the defense’s argument.
She said she too was heavily under the influence during the weeks before and after Lee’s death, and that his drug dealer friend Jeremy Boivin had sexually assaulted her after giving her GHB, a date rape drug.
Her brother was not mad at Lee, however, and was instead angry with Boivin, Khazar Momeni said. She testified that her brother and Lee were getting along the night of the murder and sharing drinks, adding that all was normal when they left her apartment.
Prosecutors also grilled Khazar Momeni on her recollection of events, accusing her of being evasive and only answering clear questions from the defense team. Khazar Momeni paid for her brother’s lawyers.
During closing arguments, Nima Momeni’s defense attorney Saam Zangeneh showed a video from The Battery, a club in San Francisco, in which Lee and a friend appear to sniff drugs with an object similar in size and dimensions to the knife.
Lee’s family recently filed a wrongful death suit against Momeni’s sister and mother in San Francisco Superior Court, claiming his family helped him cover up the murder.
Subscribe to our free newsletters
Our weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.