SAN FRANCISCO – Residents of the city and county of San Francisco with addiction problems who receive cash assistance would be required to undergo treatment to continue receiving payments under a new proposal from Mayor London Breed. 

The proposal, which requires approval by the Board of Supervisors, would require people who apply for County Adult Assistance Programs to undergo screening for substance use disorder and to participate in a treatment program if they’re found to have an addiction, according to a statement Breed sent out Tuesday. 

“We fund a wide range of services, and we want to help people get the care they need but under current state law, local government lack tools to compel people into treatment,” Breed said. “This initiative aims to create more accountability and help get people to accept the treatment and services they need.”   

People who refuse or who “do not successfully engage in treatment” would not be eligible for cash assistance.

Who would this apply to? Specifically, homeless and formerly homeless, single adults, between the ages of 18 and 65, receiving anywhere from $700 to about $800 in cash assistance through San Francisco’s General Assistance program. 

And we’re just talking about the cash payments, not any housing assistance. G.A. is a program that exists in every county in California, and it can legally be tied to drug treatment.

That is what the mayor has proposed.

“Last week alone, 80 people were contacted and touched out on the street, asked if they wanted services, provided treatment on demand,” Breed said Tuesday. “And only one agreed.”

Breed said it is about moving people towards treatment and saving lives, two things San Francisco has struggled with. She also referenced conditions on city streets.

“But no more anything goes without accountability,” the mayor said.

Supervisors Catherine Stefani, Raphael Mandelman and Matt Dorsey all voiced support for the proposal, according to Breed’s announcement. 

Keith Humphreys, an addiction researcher at Stanford University, has been tentatively supportive of some of San Francisco’s efforts to push those in serious trouble towards treatment. But he has questions about this strategy.

“Right now, the city is not able to provide addiction treatment to people who are committing crimes that threaten public safety,” Humphreys told KPIX.

“I guess what I would say is, if I am the mayor, I would prioritize the place where the harm to the public is the greatest and the actual case for intervention is the highest,” Humphreys argued. “Which are people who break the law.”

Board of Supervisors president Aaron Peskin, however, released a statement Tuesday saying Breed should focus on stopping dealers and open-air drug markets rather than “drug testing people on welfare.”

“If she can’t find the way to prevent several hundred brazen criminals from selling deadly drugs — how does she think she will find the resources to drug test thousands of welfare recipients?” Peskin said in a news release.

My response to Mayor’s pledge this morning to cut off access to welfare without forced drug testing & treatment.

If we somehow have the resources to test thousands of welfare recipients, we have the resources to arrest & charge 500 brazen drug dealers and fight priority crime. pic.twitter.com/sO0isqLUaL

— Aaron Peskin (@AaronPeskin) September 26, 2023

“That’s where the public comes in,” Breed said of the debate. “Putting political pressure on their board of supervisor members to support this. It is definitely gonna be a fight, it won’t be easy. But ultimately, my hope is that the board sees this for what it is, this is a part of the solution to help us get to a better place with a number of people who are dying from drug overdoses in our city.”    

The move comes as California Gov. Gavin Newsom begins the rollout of his controversial new CARE court plan this fall that is projected to cost billions. 

It’s called CARE court because it brings mental health care into the courtroom. Now judges will order people to get help and counties to provide it under a new law that emphasizes accountability and consequences.

A person referred to CARE Court for a severe mental illness will be evaluated. If they have an untreated psychotic disorder, like schizophrenia, a judge can order a mental health treatment plan including medication, therapy and a place to live. 

The governor believes the new civil court system will help thousands get off the streets – and make everyone safer by helping people before they become a danger to themselves or others. 

“Change has its enemies. I get it,” Newsom said during a recent “60 Minutes” interview. “But one thing you cannot argue for, with all due respect to all the critics out there, is the status quo. You can’t. And in the absence of alternatives, What the hell are we gonna do to address this crisis?  

Wilson Walker contributed reporting.

More from CBS News

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Evanston’s city council approved a cash option to its Housing Restorative Program. (Kamil Krzaczynski / AFP/Getty Images / File via CNN)

(CNN) — As a child, Robin Rue Simmons didn’t know the Evanston neighborhood she called home was an area where Black families were once forced to live.

Rue Simmons grew up just north of Chicago in Evanston’s 5th Ward, where banks refused to give mortgage loans to Black families until 1969.

In Evanston, Black people were restricted to a certain portion of the 5th Ward and excluded from other parts of the city.

The area “was disinvested in, stripped of a neighborhood school and access to health care,” Rue Simmons told CNN.

“There were specific anti-black zoning laws and housing practices that are responsible for our racial segregation — not only our physical segregation, but our wealth gaps and home ownership gaps and all other racial gaps that we have here in Evanston,” she said.

Those discriminatory housing policies led Rue Simmons, a former alderwoman, to push for reparations. Under Rue Simmons’ leadership, Evanston became the first city in the United States to pass a reparations resolution in 2019 for Black residents who qualified.

“It is a $25,000 direct benefit to build wealth through home equity,” Rue Simmons said. “Black Residents that lived in Evanston during the period of harm, which was 1919-1969, or their direct descendants are eligible.”

In March 2021, officials voted to release the first batch of funds in that program, and the first recipients were awarded grants in 2022.

Initially, the grants of up to $25,000 were restricted to mortgage assistance, renovations or a down payment on a home. Earlier this month, the Reparations Committee unanimously recommended the inclusion of a fourth option for beneficiaries receiving payment through the housing program: a direct cash payment to beneficiaries.

On Monday night, the Evanston City Council approved a cash option to its Housing Restorative Program. The meeting lasted three hours and it took the council three seconds to approve the cash option. Now, the program includes direct cash benefits for those who qualify.

There was no discussion because it was listed on the consent agenda. Council member Devon Reid told CNN by phone after the vote, “the items on the consent agenda are non-controversial items.”

At the end of the meeting, Reid appeared via Zoom with his camera off and spoke about the change.

“I just want to highlight how special Evanston is. Tonight, we passed what I believe is a historic amendment to our reparations program. It was just on the consent agenda and there’s no fuss, no folks coming out, you know protesting. No dissent amongst the council,” Reid said.

He added this will allow Evanston to move forward swiftly.

“This will allow us to get funding to our ancestors in a much more expedient fashion. We will be able to get that money out to folks and be able to provide some repair to our Black community and to the harmed community who has suffered from uh housing discrimination,” Reid said.

So far, the city has only spent $326,836 of the $10 million promised.

Tasheik Kerr, an assistant to the city manager, told CNN 124 people are still on a waiting list to receive money. Six who were eligible died before receiving payment.

Overall, Kerr said 650 residents have applied. The city is still sorting through applications and at least six people who qualified have died while waiting for their grant.

“We have stalled because of complications,” Rue Simmons said. “It has taken longer than we expected. And some of those challenges have been really underestimating, operationally, the work.”

From Asheville, North Carolina, to Detroit, Michigan, cities across the country are trying to repair harms caused by institutional racism. In San Francisco, a reparations committee is seeking payments proposed of $5 million to every eligible Black resident. A final report that includes board feedback is due in June, according to the San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee.

The complications Evanston has seen with funding and distributing funds will come up across the US, Rue Simmons said. “We’ve had challenges, but we have found solutions,” she said. Those struggles were highlighted in the 2023 documentary “The Big Payback,” by Erika Alexander and Whitney Dow.

Funding for a repair of this magnitude is a tough hurdle to clear, Rue Simmons said. While she and her team worked on reparations in Evanston, the state of Illinois approved recreational marijuana, which went into effect in 2020 — and that provided the initial funding for Evanston’s reparations initiative.

“It is one thing to identify a harm and prescribe a remedy,” Rue Simmons said. “In the case of Evanston …we have been led to understand and appreciate that home rule taxes are our most viable way to fund reparations being that they’re within our purview.”

Some recipients hesitant about cash option

Ramona Burton is among the 14 people who have received the $25,000 grant so far. The 74-year-old woman has lived in Evanston her entire life but was born in Chicago. Back then, the city didn’t allow “the birth of Black” babies in certain hospitals, she said.

Burton said she used the money to purchase a new roof, install eight new windows and a privacy fence, as well as repair her chimney.

“I wasn’t planning on buying a new home at my age and my home is paid off. So, I used it for renovations,” the 74-year-old told CNN. “I was so excited when I found out. We didn’t get the money in our hands. We never see the money. The city paid the contractors for the work.”

That’s what 88-year-old Louis Weathers, another grant recipient, said he wants to remain in place. He is not in favor of the cash option the council approved Monday.

“I don’t think they should do that. They should have some stipulations that will help the city in housing. Something that will help the value of my property stay stable or go up,” he said. “Giving people cash isn’t a good idea unless you put it in a trust, and you can only get so much each year.”

Kimberly Holmes-Ross is among 124 approved residents but is still waiting to begin her project.

Her father, she said, migrated to Evanston from the South following the Korean War. Like Rue Simmons, she was raised in the 5th Ward with her parents but has since moved to the city’s 2nd Ward.

“My parents weren’t even shown houses in this ward in 1962 — everything was over in the 5th Ward. That is what they were shown and allowed to buy,” she said, standing in the neat yard of her home. “We’re looking to either build another house or add on to our garage.”

Holmes-Ross expressed some hesitation about the cash option and said there must be checks and balances.

“I hope it doesn’t stray too far from the original plan, where they could prove the harm. The harm was in housing and in redlining,” she said.

The-CNN-Wire & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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Just add cash!

As RollOnFriday has learned, Withers has made a cash call to all of its junior partners.

The company confirmed that junior equity partners were asked to contribute between $25,000 and $52,500 (£19.9,000 to £41.7,000) depending on seniority.

Cash calls can help partnerships strengthen their balance sheets, which has become a more pressing matter for some companies as they grapple with market pressures exacerbated by the impact of the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and – for UK-based companies – Brexit.

Withers expanded significantly in the US last year, taking a bullish stance on the future of office versus remote work with moves to much larger offices in LA, San Francisco and San Diego.

However, the company told RollOnFriday that its decision to apply for a capital contribution was made two years ago. Rather than an emergency funding measure, it appeared to be a desire to help junior partners leverage the financial bond between attorney and firm that motivated the call.

In a statement, it said, “For the first time, we have asked junior equity partners to make a capital contribution of between $25,000 and $52,500, based on seniority, to help them become more involved in ownership of the company.” The call is not directed to senior equity partners, whose capital needs remain unchanged, the company said.

One of the city’s oldest private client practices, Withers became Withersworldwide in the last decade, surprising everyone with a US merger and an international rollout in some pretty flashy locations (Milan, Tokyo, New York, right next to Domino’s in Cambridge).

It certainly didn’t give the impression that a company was struggling to make money. Withers reported global revenue of £267m in 2022, up from £243.7m a year earlier, while profit per equity partner held steady at £668k after a 32% increase in 2021.

Last summer the company was doing so well that it even gave all trainees, secretaries, paralegals in the EU and Asia and below-level corporate services staff a £1,000 extra living allowance.

Speaking of the rising sales of the US offices in 2022, Michael Brophy, managing director of Withers in Los Angeles, said: “Every year around the world we get the idea that the London market is the most important market for the company.” However, he will take their money.

Let top companies and companies ping your app when they interest you in a job. Whether you plan to actively relocate or not, keep an ear open by downloading LawyerUp on the App Store or Google Play.

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Tori Gaines and Will Tran

2 months ago

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – The founder of mobile payments service Cash App died early Tuesday morning after an apparent knife attack near downtown San Francisco, and police are asking the public for more information.

Bob Lee, 43, was an executive at cryptocurrency company MobileCoin.

Judy Blume breaks out in Florida, DeSantis: ‘Teachers under fire, librarians under threat’

At approximately 2:35 am, officers were called to the 400 block of Main Street after receiving reports of a stabbing in the area. Officers determined that Lee was apparently suffering from stab wounds.

Lee received first aid from officers and emergency responders before being rushed to a local hospital. He later died from his injuries.

New cars have become luxury goods

No arrests were made, nor was a description of a suspect released.

Police are investigating this incident as a homicide.

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By Jen Smith, Chief Reporter for Dailymail.Com

15:49 11 Apr 2023, updated 18:07 13 Apr 2023

• Mayor Breed has come under fire since the brutal murder and separate attack
• San Francisco is still short of 500 police officers to meet the need
• Whole Foods this week closed its flagship store in downtown San Francisco due to widespread drug use, theft and violent behavior towards employees

Amid mounting criticism of escalating crime in her city, San Francisco Mayor London Breed has urged people not to jump to conclusions about the high-profile murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee and a separate attack on a former fire commissioner.

Lee was stabbed to death while visiting San Francisco last week. The police have not released any information about his death, nor have they made any arrests.

A day after his brutal murder, former fire commissioner Don Carmignani was beaten by Garett Doty outside his mother’s house. Doty’s attorney claims Carmignani pepper sprayed him first, provoking the attack.

Carmignani has since appealed to Breed to make policy changes to make the city safer.

Instead of heeding those calls, she defended the city on Saturday, even appearing to imply that the incidents were not examples of senseless crime.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has urged people not to jump to conclusions about the high-profile murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee and another attack on a former fire commissioner. Cash App founder Bob Lee was stabbed to death last Tuesday. Former fire commissioner Don Carmignani was attacked outside his mother’s house

“I would like to start by clarifying that the information in both cases is not yet public and that it is being investigated.”

“When some facts about many of these cases come out, people will be surprised,” Breed told ABC News, without giving further details.

She also claimed that social media, where many had complained about the state of the city, was exacerbating the problem.

“It’s really aggravated events like this and people jumping to conclusions about what they think is happening.”

Neither Lee’s family nor Carmignani have yet responded to her comments.

Disturbing cellphone footage shared via a local neighborhood app shows a man wandering the local area with a metal crowbar in hand

According to Breed’s office, the San Francisco Police Department is still short of 500 officers to keep the city safe.

The city is now providing an additional $25 million to cover overtime pay for officers still on the job.

Breed claimed on Saturday that this would be enough to ease the crisis.

Democratic city manager Joel Engardino is among those urging the mayor to do more.

“For a city our size, we’re short of more than 500 civil servants.” Hundreds more civil servants may retire in June, and many will. The last police academy graduated 12 new officers. The current academy has only eight cadets.

Lee, seen with his children, was visiting San Francisco from Miami when he was attacked

“It’s not enough if we’re missing 500. That shows me that more money is not the only solution.” Yes, we need this overtime funding.

“But we need to talk about the real reason we have a police staffing crisis — because too few people want to be police officers anymore,” he said in a recent statement.

Harrowing surveillance footage shows Lee stumbling through the city streets after being stabbed to death around 2:30 a.m.

The father and technology investor was visiting from Miami, where he now lives.

He died in hospital after suffering at least two stab wounds, but little else is known about his killing.

The video – first revealed by DailyMail.com – showed him begging a taxi driver for help and stumbling around outside an apartment building.

Meanwhile, one of downtown San Francisco’s largest supermarkets was forced to close just a year after it opened due to widespread drug use, theft and aggressive behavior towards employees.

Organic food giant Whole Foods opened a new “flagship” location on Trinity Place in the city’s Tenderloin area in March 2022, hoping to revive visitor numbers after two years of draconian COVID restrictions have severely impacted businesses in the area had.

But a spokesman for Whole Foods said the store was closed last night due to staff safety concerns.

“We are only closing our Trinity location for now,” the spokesman said in a statement. “If we feel we can ensure the safety of our team members in store, we will consider reopening our Trinity location.”

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SAN FRANCISCO — Family-run small business Cigarettes R Cheaper suffered the biggest slump in its long history in San Francisco last month.

Surveillance video shows two cars parked outside the Richmond smokehouse during the night hours of May 31. A thief tries to break the glass with a tool before others finally crowd into the shop. Some burglars were already carrying empty pockets.

Once inside, the thieves clear out the shelves and toss whatever they could get their hands on in a trash can and what appears to be a bed sheet.

In about 15 minutes, the criminals stole 500 packs of cigarettes worth $80,000. They also stole the safe containing $20,000 in cash.

They left a lot of damage.

“So many businesses are going out of business or moving out of town because of this, it’s not safe, you know? Nobody feels safe. I don’t even feel safe here anymore,” said store manager Sunny Shakoor. “I don’t know what’s going to happen next. Even during the day they can rob me, they can do anything.”

Shakoor said the family opened the Geary Boulevard location about 30 years ago. They too were hit by burglars last year. He believes crime is increasing in the neighborhood.

“Because every day I hear that something is happening in this neighborhood. They break into houses because a policeman came here two days before. The police told me they were looking for two cars, seven to eight men,” Shakoor said. “Same group. He said that.”

Shakoor says thieves also broke into a doctor’s office next door that same night.

He said his family came to the US from Afghanistan to seek a better life.

“We come from far away to work and live here – $100,000 isn’t easy to pay,” he added.

Shakoor said the thieves stole something that gives the store about a quarter of the year’s revenue.

Since the last burglary, the family has spent thousands of dollars replacing windows and installing new gates behind the glass.

“I just want the government, the City of San Francisco, to pay more attention to businesses — the safety of people, businesses, homes, etc. — because we’re the taxpayer, you know?” Shakoor said.

Betty Yu

Betty Yu joined KPIX 5 in November 2013 as a general assignments reporter. She spent two years as a reporter at WTVJ, NBC’s Miami-based network, before relocating to San Francisco.

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• Bob Lee, the inventor of the Cash App, was fatally stabbed in San Francisco earlier this week.
• His friend Jake Shields told NewsNation that Lee recently moved to Miami.
• Lee moved out of San Francisco because he felt it was unsafe, Shields added.

Bob Lee, the inventor of the Cash App, moved out of San Francisco because he believed the city was “decaying” just before he was fatally stabbed, a friend told NewsNation on Wednesday.

Jake Shields, a former mixed martial artist, told the outlet that he used to live in the area where Lee was attacked but eventually moved because he no longer felt safe there.

“[Lee] “I was commenting on San Francisco’s deterioration, which is actually why he just moved to Miami,” Shields told the outlet.

“It wasn’t the only reason, but it was a reason,” Shields told Insider. “I can’t remember the exact words he used and I want to be careful when I put words in a dead man’s mouth, but he was extremely happy with it.” Miami felt a lot cleaner and safer.”

According to an NBC Bay Area report, Lee died after being stabbed early Tuesday morning while walking near Rincon Hill and the Bay Bridge.

Few details have emerged about the circumstances of the attack and police have not yet identified anyone or announced any arrests in connection with the incident.

The tech mogul sold his multimillion-dollar home in the San Francisco area in July last year, according to real estate records verified by the New York Post.

Insider has not been able to independently verify when Lee left town and whether or not he was in San Francisco on business.

Shields told NewsNation the attack was a “pointless act of violence in San Francisco,” adding that the city has had “problems” for some time.

“But anyone who’s been at this for a long time knows it’s only going to get worse,” Shields added. “People talk and say they will do things, but nobody does anything.”

Lee’s death reignited a long-running debate about crime in San Francisco.

Last year, San Francisco’s violent crime rate, which includes murders, rapes, assaults and robberies, was 647 per 100,000 people, according to the San Francisco Police Department. This is an increase from 550 in 2020 and 603 in 2021, but lower than the pre-pandemic figure of 696 in 2019.

Several other friends and colleagues of Lee have criticized crime in the city and urged San Francisco Mayor London Breed to take more action.

Twitter owner Elon Musk also weighed in on the debate, tweeting on Wednesday: “Many people I know have been severely attacked. Violent crimes in SF are horrendous and even when attackers are caught, they are often released immediately.” He did not cite any sources to support the claim.

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Tech entrepreneur and CashApp founder Bob Lee. (From Twitter via CNN)

By Catherine Thorbecke | CNN

Bob Lee, Square’s former chief technology officer who helped launch the Cash App, has died in San Francisco after an apparent knife attack.

Lee’s death was confirmed by Josh Goldbard, the CEO of his current employer, MobileCoin. Lee joined MobileCoin, a cryptocurrency and digital payments startup, in 2021 as Chief Product Officer.

“Our dear friend and colleague Bob Lee passed away yesterday at the age of 43, leaving behind a loving family and a band of close friends and associates,” Goldbard said in a statement to CNN on Wednesday morning. “Bob was a dynamo, a force of nature. Bob was the real article. He was created for the world that is being born, he was a child of dreams and whatever he imagined, no matter how crazy, he accomplished.”

Goldbard continued, “We will miss you, Bob. We love you.”

Rick Lee, Bob’s father, also confirmed the news in a statement on Facebook, writing, “I just lost my best friend.” The father said his son “lost his life on the street in San Francisco early Tuesday.”

“Bob would give you the shirt off his back,” the father wrote. “He never looked down on anyone and had a strong philosophy of non-judgment.”

Rick Lee added that his son “will be missed by everyone who knew him” and thanked those who reached out and offered support.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed also issued a statement Wednesday, calling Lee’s death “a terrible tragedy.” Breed said police are still investigating Lee’s death and will provide more details soon.

According to an earlier statement from the San Francisco Police Department, officials were responding to reports of a stabbing early Tuesday morning in the Rincon neighborhood of San Francisco, where they found “a 43-year-old adult male victim who appeared to be suffering from stab wounds.” ”

“Officials provided assistance and called paramedics to the scene of the accident. The victim was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. Despite the efforts of first responders and medical personnel, the victim succumbed to his injuries,” the police statement said.

Several local news organizations quoted unnamed police sources as saying Lee was the victim of the stabbing. Police said no arrests had been made and investigations were ongoing.

San Francisco has grappled with an apparent spike in crime while still trying to recover from the pandemic. Preliminary police data reports 12 homicides in San Francisco this year, up 20% from the same period last year. Overall, there were 56 homicides in San Francisco in 2022, which is exactly the same number of homicides the city recorded in 2021.

While Goldbard did not specify the circumstances of Lee’s death in his statement, he wrote in a separate Twitter thread in response to the news, “As a lifelong Bay Area resident, I have more questions than answers tonight.”

“I don’t know how to fix this, but I know something isn’t working in our gray city. Bob left this world too soon,” Goldbard wrote on Twitter.

outbreak of grief

Many others in the tech world and beyond reacted to the news of Lee’s death with outbursts of shock and sadness.

“It’s so hard to believe he’s gone,” Figma CEO Dylan Field wrote in a tweet, recalling first meeting Lee in 2006.

Launchpad Capital tech investor Ryan Gilbert tweeted that Lee was “one of a kind,” adding, “May his memory be a blessing.”

And mixed martial artist Jake Shields remembered Lee as a “loyal friend” in a tweet, writing, “RIP bro.”

Shields’ tweet caught the attention of new Twitter owner Elon Musk, who included himself by saying, “Violent crimes in SF are horrendous and even when attackers are caught, they are often released immediately.” Musk tagged the District Attorney of in his tweet San Francisco, Brooke Jenkins.

Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Square (now called Block), responded to the news with a post on decentralized social media app Nostr early Wednesday. “Heartbreaking,” Dorsey wrote. “Bob was instrumental in both Square and Cash App.”

Lee was Square’s first chief technology officer. Before joining Square, Lee was at Google, where he led the team that brought Android to market.

The CNN Wire
& © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery company. All rights reserved.

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Bob Lee, inventor of the Cash App mobile payment service, has died.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Lee was the victim of a knife attack in the Rincon Point neighborhood on Tuesday.

San Francisco police said they responded at the scene after receiving a report of a knife attack around 2:35 a.m. The 43-year-old was found there with obvious stab wounds.

“Officials rendered assistance and called paramedics to the scene,” SFPD said in a statement.

The victim was taken to a nearby hospital, where his death was pronounced.

Police are investigating the death as a homicide. There were no arrests.

At the time of his death, Lee was Chief Product Officer for MobileCoin, a cryptocurrency startup.

Joshua Goldbard, the company’s founder, paid tribute to Lee.

“He was created for the world that is being born,” said Goldbard. “Bob was a kid full of dreams and whatever he imagined, no matter how crazy, he made it happen.”

Lee was well known throughout the tech industry. Jack Dorsey, who owns Cash App’s parent company, called Lee’s death “heartbreaking”.

Goldbard said Lee leaves behind “a loving family and a number of close friends and associates.”

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JANIE HAR, Associated Press

3 hours ago

Nima Momeni, charged with murder in the murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee, enters the courtroom at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco on Thursday, May 18, 2023. (Paul Kuroda/ The Standard via AP, Pool)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Technology consultant Nima Momeni on Thursday pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee on the streets of San Francisco.

San Francisco Superior Court Justice Victor Hwang ordered 38-year-old Momeni to remain in prison without bail because he posed a risk to public safety if released. Momeni, who appeared in an orange sweatshirt and trousers, said nothing and his attorney Paula Canny filed the plea on his behalf.

The case has garnered national attention, in part due to Lee’s status in the tech world. Lee was found shortly after 2:30 a.m. on April 4 with three stab wounds, including one to the heart, and was taken to a hospital, where he later died. He was found in the Rincon Hill neighborhood of downtown San Francisco, which has tech offices and condos but is quiet early in the morning.

Lee, 43, founded Cash App, a mobile payments service, and was chief product officer of cryptocurrency MobileCoin. He was mourned as a loving father of two who made friends everywhere.

Prosecutors have not revealed a motive but say Momeni stabbed Lee after an argument broke out over Momeni’s sister, who appeared in court with her mother on Thursday.

Deputy District Attorney Omid Talai on Thursday pleaded for Momeni to be held without bail, saying the defendant drove Lee to a remote location and used a knife that was part of a unique kitchen set owned by his sister. Police found a knife with a four-inch blade at the scene.

Talai said the analysis showed Momeni’s DNA on the knife’s handle and Lee’s DNA on the bloodied blade and no evidence that Lee touched the handle, contradicting Canny’s claim of self-defense for her client.

But Canny said that Momeni didn’t drive Lee to a secluded place to kill him. Instead, she said, Lee ordered him to stop after calling an Uber about the two getting into an argument. The last time Momeni saw Lee, Canny said, Lee stood up and walked away.

“People can argue without knowing that someone has been mortally wounded,” she said in court, later adding, “All of us, including my client, are heartbroken that Bob Lee has died.”

Canny said Momeni has close ties to the community and must stay and fight the charges or face deportation to Iran, which would separate him from the two people he loves most, his mother and sister. Momeni is not a US citizen.

Outside the courtroom, Canny described the encounter as “a mixture of self-defense and accident.” There was no premeditated advice.”

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins dismissed the idea when speaking to reporters after the indictment. “We believe we have Mr. Lee’s killer, and that is Mr. Momeni,” she said.

Nima Momeni was 14 years old when his mother took the children to the United States. She fled Iran and had a husband who had been abusive and violent to the family for years, his mother wrote in a letter presented to the court in support of her son’s release in court.

She said her son was generous, kind, and contributed financially when she enrolled in college to train as a dental hygienist. He taught himself computer technology.

Momeni was arrested last month at his home in Emeryville, across the street from San Francisco.

An unnamed friend of Lee told homicide detectives they had been hanging out and drinking with Momeni’s sister the day before the stabbing, prosecutors said in a motion to hold Momeni without bail.

The friend said Momeni later asked Lee if his sister was using drugs or otherwise behaving inappropriately, and Lee said she wasn’t.

The girlfriend and Lee later parted ways, and surveillance video showed Lee entering the ritzy Millennium Tower downtown, where Momeni’s sister Khazar lives with her husband, renowned San Francisco plastic surgeon Dino Elyassnia. Video footage then showed Lee and Momeni exiting the building together just after 2 a.m. and driving away in Momeni’s car.

If convicted, Momeni faces 26 years in prison.

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