May 12, 2023
San Francisco police have arrested an Iranian-born tech consultant named Nima Momeni in the fatal stabbing of prominent tech world creator Bob Lee, 43. AndSan Francisco has named an Iranian-American with the district attonrey’s office, Omid Talai, to be the lead prosecutor for Momeni’s trial.
The motive appeared to be a dispute over Lee’s relationship with Momeni’s sister, according to documents filed in court.
The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) said Momeni, 38, was taken into custody at his apartment in Emeryville, California, “without incident.” Emeryville lies at the east end of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
News reports identified the suspect as the founder of Expand IT.
Alex Pourshayegan, who has known Momeni since he was a teenager working in Pour-shayegan’s window and glass store, told Business Insider Momeni immigrated to the US from Iran with his mother and sister and grew up outside of Berkeley. Momeni later became Pourshayegan’s IT vendor.
In his last conversation with Momeni, several months ago, Momeni expressed interest in buying a ranch somewhere in the countryside. “He’s a nature boy,” Pourshayegan said.
Momeni lists UC Berkeley and Laney College in Oakland, California, on his LinkedIn profile. A spokesperson for UC Berkeley, however, told The San Francisco Chronicle the institution has no record of Momeni attending.
Akash Sawhney, who once worked with the alleged killer, told the paper Momeni practiced Zoroastrianism.
Prosecutors said they believe Lee was stabbed in a planned attack by Momeni following an argument about the alleged killer’s sister.
Lee and Momeni reportedly had a spat on the evening of April 3 regarding Khazar Elyassnia, in which Momeni asked Lee if his sister “was doing drugs or anything inappropriate.” Surveillance video shows Lee arriving at Elyassnia’s high-rise, which Momeni had entered earlier in the night.
The video shows Lee and Momeni leaving the building together shortly after 2 a.m. in Momeni’s BMW. From there, Momeni allegedly drove Lee to a relatively remote area in San Francisco, where he plunged a 4-inch kitchen knife into Lee’s heart. Police said that showed the killing was pre-planned, since people don’t routinely have kitchen knives in their cars.
Momeni’s attorney, Paula Canny, said Momeni would plead not guilty and said she would contest the video evidence that the city is relying heavily upon. “I don’t think you can see anything in the videos,” she told reporters.
Lee, who was stabbed three times, managed to dial 911 at 2:34 a.m. after stumbling through the streets seeking help. Police arrived minutes later, but couldn’t revive the victim. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Prosecutors said that after the two men left her apartment, Elyassnia texted Lee, saying, “Just wanted to make sure your doing ok Cause I know nima came wayyyyyy down hard on you.”
Press reports said Elyassnia was married to a prominent San Francisco surgeon but that the marriage was troubled. Lee is divorced.
Momeni started his own IT consulting company, Expand IT, in 2010, according to the Chronicle. On its website, the company said it worked with non-profits, government agencies, as well as healthcare clients, and other startups.
Two people who hired Momeni as an IT vendor told Insider that he was competent, professional and unassuming.
Despite giving the impression he was running a thriving tech business, however, neighbor Sam Singer remained skeptical. He told The New York Post: “I never saw anyone in there but him and one time a cleaning service. No employees ever.”
Sources at the San Francisco Police Department said Momeni and Lee were in a car registered to Momeni when a fight allegedly broke out, Mission Local reported. At 2:24 a.m., Lee called 911 screaming that he had been stabbed. Surveillance camera footage also showed Lee clutching his side while seeking help from someone in a parked Toyota Camry, which subsequently drove off. Shortly after, Lee collapsed to the ground.
One of Momeni’s neighbors, who described them as friends, told Forbes Momeni phoned to ask him for “all your alcohol” on the evening of April 4, hours after Lee’s killing. Text messages viewed by Forbes showed Momeni thanking the person for the alcohol. A visibly on-edge Momeni then asked this person to travel to Colombia with him.
Some of those who know Momeni described him as a successful entrepreneur who worked hard and lived large. “He was always working nights. We used to tease him and call him ‘Dracula’ because he had no choice [but to stay up late for work],” said a longtime family friend, who has known Momeni since he was a teenager living in the East Bay community of Albany.
According to this person, Momeni and his mother left their home in Mashhad in the years following the Iranian Revolution of 1979. They recalled Momeni struggling to grow up without a father, but said he eventually found success in IT enjoying “cars, boats and girls” in his free time.
A hobbyist DJ and stereotypical bachelor, Momeni also liked to sail and threw frequent house parties, according to several of his neighbors. After his arrest, his yellow boat and BMW were still parked outside his apartment complex.
One resident overheard police in the hallway around 5 a.m. telling Momeni to “please come out with your hands up; we have a search warrant.”
In 2011, Momeni was charged with driving with a suspended license and with selling a switchblade, but the switch-blade charge was later dropped, according to Forbes. The Daily Beast reported that one neighbor said Momeni had a few guns and knives at his residence.
The tech executive was also charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly driving under the influence in 2004, KTVU Fox 2 reported. The TV station said officers discovered a “butterfly knife” in his vehicle when they pulled him over, but the case was dropped.
In the nine days between the stabbing and Momeni’s arrest, Lee’s death stoked politicized narratives about safety in San Francisco a refrain led by tech entrepreneurs, especially Elon Musk, that the leftist-run city is ridden with crime. Mission Local wrote that San Francisco’s violent crime rate is nearing an historic low, and, while issues like property crime and open drug use are visible and pervasive, similarly-sized cities share these problems.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins called recent tweets from Musk “reckless and irresponsible” misinformation after the Twitter CEO commented on Lee’s death before Momeni’s arrest and accused city officials of releasing violent offenders after they’ve been caught. The common assumption at the time was that Lee was stabbed by some common criminal who stumbled across him in the street.
Lee, who used the nickname “Crazy Bob,” was most recently chief product officer at crypto company MobileCoin. Before that, Lee worked at Google and then Square, where he became its first chief technology officer and created Cash App.
In a Facebook post, his brother, Tim Oliver Lee, thanked the police for “bringing this person to justice so quickly.” Lee’s ex-wife confirmed the suspect’s identity, reported the Daily Beast, and called Momeni a “soulless piece of shit.”
