Tech executive’s alleged murderer to plead not guilty in case that has transfixed San Francisco

This post was originally published on this site

Suspect Nima Momeni’s arraignment in San Francisco state court was postponed Tuesday, but his attorney, Paula Canny, told reporters at the courthouse that camera footage cited by prosecutors as evidence doesn’t support a premeditated murder charge. 

“I don’t think you can see anything in the videos,” she said.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has urged the court not to grant bail and release Momeni, arguing the April 4 slaying was “planned and deliberate.”

Lee, 43, who was chief product officer at cryptocurrency startup MobileCoin and created Cash App, was revered in the tech world for his coding talents. Prosecutors say he was stabbed with a kitchen knife on a downtown San Francisco street following a night of socializing with friends, including Momeni’s sister.

Momeni made his second court appearance Tuesday and his arraignment was delayed, again, until May 2. Canny said she’s waiting to receive an autopsy report from the city medical examiner’s office. Jenkins said at a news conference that it may take weeks for the report to be completed. 

Canny told Bloombeg News she would oppose the district attorney’s effort to keep her client, a 38-year-old IT consultant, locked up until his trial.

In a court filing to support keeping Momeni in custody, prosecutors cited surveillance footage that showed the men leaving in Momeni’s car together from his sister’s apartment building and driving to a “dark and secluded area.” 

A color video segment cited in the filing then shows two men standing on a sidewalk for about five minutes — with the camera too far away to identify their faces — before one suddenly moves toward the other. The men then separate, one walking away injured and the other moving along a fence line where the knife was later recovered, according to the filing, which describes Momeni’s BMW speeding away from the scene.

Jenkins told reporters Tuesday that DNA evidence from the bloody knife has been turned over to Canny. She declined to elaborate.

The district attorney said she thinks Canny has seen enough evidence for Momeni to enter a plea. Jenkins expressed disappointment that the arraignment was delayed, especially after many of Lee’s family members showed up for Tuesday’s hearing.