A court ruled on Tuesday that the defendant will go on trial for the murder of Cash App creator Bob Lee, citing evidence that shows the suspect killed Lee with a knife.
Nima Momeni, a computer consultant accused of stabbing Lee, 43, in San Francisco’s Rincon Hill area in the early hours of April 4, was given a preliminary hearing, and after an hour and a half of testimony, Judge Harry Dorfman issued the decision.
On August 15, Momeni will return to court after entering a not guilty plea in May. The two guys were reportedly in a car on the night of the homicide and were known to each other, according to the authorities. The defense requested a lower charge of manslaughter, arguing that the government’s evidence did not show that the crime was planned out in advance.
Saam Zangeneh, the lawyer representing Momeni, said that security footage demonstrates the two men were “amicable” when they exited an apartment complex, got into a car, and parked along a roadway for about 20 minutes.
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Judge Clears the Way
Zangeneh stated, “That could only lead to a sudden, in the heat of passion, quarrel and not a malicious, premeditated murder.” The DNA found on a knife left near the crime site and confirmed by a San Francisco police DNA analyst was almost certainly that of Momeni.
The defense argued that the evidence cannot show how or when the DNA was transferred to the knife and that the knife in question is a common model available at well-known stores. According to the police, the knife was taken from Momeni’s sister’s residence.
When evaluating whether or not the matter should go to trial, Dorfman noted the DNA evidence. Because both Mr. Lee’s blood and Mr. Momeni’s DNA were found on the knife, Dorfman said that the evidence was “very strong.
Both the prosecution and Momeni’s defense team have the right to seek that the evidence from the preliminary hearing be kept secret. The evidence, according to the prosecution, may taint the pool of prospective jurors, while Momeni’s defenders contended that seeing pictures of Lee’s autopsy would unduly distress his family.
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Source: CNN
