SAN FRANCISCO (AP)– The technology specialist butted in Cash App owner Bob Lee’s stabbing fatality affirmed in his very own protection Wednesday that he made a “bad joke” to attempt to place an end to a late evening of alcohol consumption and doing medications, and the renowned business owner instantly struck him.
In his initial public declarations regarding the occasions causing Lee’s fatality, Nima Momeni stated that he joked to Lee that he may intend to invest his last evening in San Francisco with family members instead of looking for a strip club.
Momeni stated Lee took out a blade and struck him, compeling him to protect himself. He stated Lee later on left, revealing no indications he was wounded. Momeni stated he called a lawyer when he found out of Lee’s fatality the adhering to day.
“He’s a big famous guy,” he stated. “I’m just an average joe, an immigrant.”
Lee, 43, was found staggering on a deserted downtown San Francisco street, dripping a trail of blood and calling for help. He later died at a hospital.
Prosecutors say Momeni, 40, planned the April 4, 2023, attack after a dispute over his younger sister, Khazar Momeni, with whom Lee was friends. They say Momeni took a knife from a unique set in his sister’s condo, drove Lee to a secluded area and stabbed him three times, then fled.
The defense says Lee was being erratic and aggressive, having slept only six hours over a four-day period of doing cocaine and ketamine and drinking.
Momeni has pleaded not guilty. He faces 26 years to life in prison if convicted.
But Momeni, who took the witness stand Wednesday, said the two men were on friendly terms when his sister kicked them both out of her condo at 2 a.m., saying she wanted to sleep after hours of partying and ingesting drugs.
Momeni said they got into his BMW and he started driving while Lee checked his phone for places to go next. He pulled the car over after they went over a pothole, causing Lee to spill his beer. Lee got out of the car and Momeni followed, thinking Lee was about to puke.
That was when he said he made the “bad joke” about seeing family.
“He just went from zero to 100,” Momeni said. “You could see the anger.”
Omid Talai, assistant district attorney, scoffed at the story on cross-examination Wednesday.
“He wanted to kill you over a bad joke?” said Talai, incredulous.
“I’m not sure why he pulled it out,” Momeni said. “I was in fear for my life.”
Momeni pressed back Wednesday mid-day as Talai doubted him regarding sms message and statement from others. The interrogation proceeds Thursday.
Surveillance video clip of Lee’s last evening reveals him getting in the chic Millennium Tower midtown, where Momeni’s sis deals with her spouse, a popular San Francisco cosmetic surgeon.
Video additionally reveals Lee and Momeni leaving the structure after 2 a.m. and repeling with each other in Momeni’s automobile. Grainy video clip additionally reveals both guys leaving the automobile in a separated place by the Bay Bridge.
Prosecutors claim that is where Momeni stabbed Lee, while the protection states that is where Lee struck Momeni.
Police recuperated a blade with a 4-inch (10-centimeter) blade in the private location where Lee was stabbed. Prosecutors stated examinations revealed Momeni’s DNA on the tool’s deal with and Lee’s DNA on the bloody blade, however the protection offered a professional witness that stated the authorities needs to have checked the deal with for finger prints, particularly Lee’s.
Lee’s fatality stunned the technology area as fellow execs and designers penciled homages to the charming business owner’s kindness and luster. Lee was primary item police officer of cryptocurrency system MobileCoin when he passed away. He was a daddy to 2 youngsters.
