San Francisco police on Thursday arrested tech worker Nima Momeni in connection with last week’s slaying of Cash App founder Bob Lee.
Authorities have not announced a motive for the stabbing, saying Momeni and Lee appeared to know each other. There had been speculation that Lee’s killing was a random street crime.
What do we know about the killing?
Lee, 43, the chief product officer at cryptocurrency startup MobileCoin, was found bleeding to death near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge around 2:35 a.m. April 4. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Lee had been in San Francisco a few days to spend time with friends after a MobileCoin leadership summit, said Doug Dalton, who met him when they were software engineers.
What do we know about Momeni?
Momeni was arrested in Emeryville. Police served a search warrant at an address that matches a business owned by Momeni, Expand IT.
The company, which was founded in 2010, partnered with clients in healthcare, finance and other markets, according to Momeni’s LinkedIn account.
Sam Singer, who works in an office next to Momeni’s and serves on the building’s board, said they met when Singer was moving into his space a month ago.
He called Momeni a “kind, professional gentleman” but noted an odd incident the night before Lee’s death, April 3, when a woman entered the building and screamed the name “Nima,” according to Singer as well as posts in the building’s private Facebook group.
Singer said the episode was so unnerving to residents that a complaint was filed about it.
Singer said that Momeni worked and lived in his unit and had been there as far back as 2021. When Singer first moved into his own unit, Momeni left a note for him, welcoming him to the building.
“He was very welcoming, kind and charming. You’d never have any idea that he would be accused of such a heinous crime.”
A neighbor, who declined to give her name, said police officers, including a SWAT team, arrived Thursday morning to arrest Momeni and alerted residents on his floor to stay inside.
“It makes me wonder how owners and landlords vet their renters,” she said. “I’m not wild about knowing someone lived in our building who goes around with a knife.”
Lee’s friend, Dalton, said that Lee and Momeni were in the same friend group but didn’t know each other.
“I didn’t know him, but I heard he was a bit off and had a short fuse,” Dalton said.
Russell Haynes, owner of Coast Range Technologies in the the San Francisco Bay Area, said Momeni was an IT consultant at his company in 2006. Haynes said Momeni was a quiet, respectful worker who often went out in the field to troubleshoot IT problems at businesses in the Bay Area.
“He was a young man, eager to learn IT. He wanted to run his own business,” Haynes said.
He was shocked to hear that Momeni was arrested on suspicion of murder.
“That’s not the Nima of my day,” Haynes said.
Momeni was charged in 2011 in Alameda County with driving with a suspended license and selling a switchblade knife. He pleaded no contest to the moving violation, the knife charge was dismissed, and he was sentenced to 10 days in county jail and three years of probation.
He was also charged in 2004 with driving under the influence of alcohol, a misdemeanor. The charge was dismissed.
Neighbor Chris Donatiello said Momeni seemed friendly and welcoming, adding that nothing appeared amiss when he saw Momeni after Lee’s death.
“I saw him last week. Just outside in the parking lot,” Donatiello said. “I said, ‘Hey haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?’ and he said, ‘Better now that I’m seeing you.’”
