Bob Lee homicide: Suspect arrested in San Francisco killing of tech govt

A suspect was arrested Thursday in the killing of the Cash App founder in San Francisco Bob Lee, officials said. San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott identified the suspect as Nima Momeni, 38, and said Momeni and Lee, 43, knew each other.

Momeni was charged with murder, Scott said during a news conference. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said Momeni was charged with murder in Lee’s death, with an amendment alleging the murder was committed with a knife.

Momeni is expected to be charged on Friday. Prosecutors will ask a judge to hold him without bail. If convicted, Momeni faces up to 26 years in prison for life, prosecutors said.

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Momeni was taken into custody Thursday morning without incident in Emeryville, a San Francisco suburb, Scott said. Investigators issued search warrants in Emeryville and San Francisco, but Scott would not say if a gun was found.

Scott also declined to give details of how they connected the death to Momeni or how the men knew each other. The chief also gave no possible motive for the murder and said the investigation was ongoing.

CBS station KPIX-TV reporter Jocelyn Moran reported on CBS News that the suspect was and Lee recorded According to a source close to the investigation, they exited the Millennium Tower residential building together before the attack.

The arrest was first reported by the independent news website Mission Local.

On his LinkedIn profile, Momeni describes himself as an “IT consultant/entrepreneur” and the owner of a company called Expand IT. Business Records with State List Momeni as Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Chief Financial Officer of Expand IT INC, described as an IT consulting firm. He signed the filing in August 2022.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Momeni has been “a dedicated technology partner since 2005” and founded Expand IT in 2010.

Criminal records show Momeni was charged with carrying a switchblade in 2011, a misdemeanor. The case was dismissed the following year after he lodged an appeal. It was not immediately clear if Momeni has a lawyer who can speak for him.

Police found Lee with stab wounds in the Rincon Hill neighborhood of San Francisco around 2:35 a.m. on April 4. He died in a hospital.

“I hope today’s arrest can begin a process of healing and closure for all affected by this tragedy,” San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey tweeted.

Prominent tech leaders took to social media to mourn Lee’s death and blame San Francisco for what they call the city’s lax stance on crime. Scott and Jenkins took a stand against that narrative on Thursday.

“This has nothing to do with San Francisco, this has to do with human nature,” Scott said.

Jenkins specifically named tech billionaire Elon Musk, who wrote the day after Lee’s death, “Violent crimes in SF are appalling, and even when attackers are caught, they’re often released immediately.” Musk also asked, “Is the city taking stronger action to… Lock up repeat offenders,” and tagged Jenkins.

During Thursday’s press briefing, Jenkins said, “Inconsiderate and irresponsible statements, such as those contained in Mr. Musk’s tweet, which falsely assumed the circumstances surrounding Mr. Lee’s death, serve to mislead the world and its perception of San Francisco , and also negatively impact the pursuit of justice for victims of crime.”

Dying downtown San Francisco has yet to recover from the pandemic. The neighborhood where the stabbing took place is near the Embarcadero waterfront and is full of engineering offices, towering condos, and not much else until late at night.

Lee is known for creating the widely used mobile payment service Cash App while serving as the chief technology officer of payments company Square, now known as Block. At the time of his death, he was Chief Product Officer of cryptocurrency firm MobileCoin.

Lee was back in San Francisco for a visit after moving to Miami in October, his father Rick Lee said on social media. The two had lived in Mill Valley, a suburb of San Francisco.

“Bob would give you the shirt off his back,” wrote Rick Lee. “He would never look down on anyone and adhered to a strict, non-judgmental philosophy. Bobby worked harder than anyone and was the smartest person I’ve ever known.”

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