San Francisco police arrested a tech consultant named Nima Momeni on Thursday in connection with the murder of Bob Lee, the founder of Cash App.
Police Chief Bill Scott told reporters on April 13 that Momeni had been apprehended and booked in San Francisco County jail on a murder charge, per CNN. Momeni is 38 years old and a resident of Emeryville, California.
As The Dallas Express previously reported, Lee was stabbed in the Rincon Hill neighborhood of San Francisco at around 2:30 a.m. on April 4.
Surveillance footage taken moments after the attack show him walking down the sidewalk, per CNN. He is clutching his side with one hand and placing a call to 911 with his phone held in the other hand.
The 43-year-old lost consciousness before first responders arrived at the scene. He was brought to a nearby hospital for treatment but died from his injuries.
During their investigation, the police recovered a four-inch kitchen knife covered in blood which they believe is the murder weapon, per CBS News.
The high-profile slaying was met with shock and grief from the tech community and beyond.
SFPD has logged 13 murders, 55 rapes, and 632 assaults between January 1 and April 9, according to data from the city’s crime dashboard.
For perspective, the city of Dallas — whose population is about 475,000 greater than San Francisco’s — has clocked 89 murders, 95 rapes, and 1,540 aggravated assaults in roughly the same amount of time.
Many Bay Area residents used Lee’s murder as an opportunity to point out the city’s ongoing struggle with violent crime.
“Very sorry to hear [about Lee’s death]. Many people I know have been severely assaulted. Violent crime in SF is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately. Is the city taking stronger action to incarcerate repeat violent offenders @BrookeJenkinsSF?” tweeted Elon Musk, tech mogul and former San Francisco resident, on April 5.
Last summer, residents voted District Attorney Chesa Boudin out of office on the grounds that his reforms that sought to reduce the prison population were too lenient and made the city less safe, per the San Francisco Chronicle.
Critics of Dallas District Attorney John Creuzot, who headed similar initiatives, have claimed the same, as The Dallas Express has covered.
Brooke Jenkins is Boudin’s replacement.
Jenkins suggested during a press conference on April 14 that Lee’s murder was actually targeted and personal.
“What we have at this point — and what we’ve been willing to release to the public — is the fact that Mr. Momeni does have a sister who was connected to Mr. Lee and apparently is what connects the two men, but at this time, we’re not revealing any more than what’s contained in our detention motion,” Jenkins said, per CBS News.
The detention motion revealed that an unnamed witness testified that Lee received a cell phone call from Momeni at around midnight while Lee and the witness were in his hotel room.
Momeni allegedly questioned Lee about spending time with his sister Khazar Elyassnia that evening. Per the court filing, he was specifically concerned about whether or not she had done drugs or anything “inappropriate.”
Surveillance camera footage showed that Lee and Momeni met up later that night. An apparent confrontation between them was captured on Main Street shortly after 2 a.m.
Lee stumbled away while Monemi appears to have driven away.
“Immediately after stabbing Victim, Defendant threw the kitchen knife, fled the scene in his white BMW at a high rate of speed, and left Victim to slowly die,” the detention motion reads.
The investigation is still ongoing.
In the meantime, Monemi has been denied bail and will be arraigned on April 25, per NBC Bay Area.