Picture Illustration by The Each day Beast/Twitter
Closely armed police descended on a transformed warehouse within the Bay Space earlier than daybreak on Thursdayand arrested an IT entrepreneur in reference to the deadly stabbing of Money App founder Bob Lee, who was attacked within the early hours of April 4.
Lee’s ex-wife Krista Lee recognized the suspect as Nima Momeni, calling him a “soulless piece of shit” in a textual content message to The Each day Beast.
San Francisco Police Chief Invoice Scott later confirmed Momeni, 38, was booked on a homicide cost.
“We are able to affirm that Mr. Lee. and Mr. Momeni knew one another. Nonetheless we won't be able to offer additional particulars presently concerning the proof that confirms that data,” Scott mentioned.
A neighbor at an handle tied to Momeni in Emeryville, close to Oakland, instructed The Each day Beast that Momeni was taken into custody early Thursday. The neighbor mentioned he woke as much as the sound of loud banging at round 5 a.m. and heard officers repeatedly declare, “Open the door. Come out, come out together with your palms up.”
“I poked my head on the market had been bunch of armed guys, three or 4 armed guys on the finish of the hall. After which they [said], ‘Get again into your room,’” he mentioned. The neighbor additionally watched officers search a truck outdoors the constructing.
The neighbor mentioned he met Momeni after Momeni held the door open for him when he first moved to the constructing, including that they’ve “been good buddies” ever since. He described Momeni, who was initially from Iran and ran his personal IT enterprise, as “tremendous candy,” although Momeni moonlighted as a DJ and “pissed off all of the neighbors taking part in loud music in any respect hours of the evening” and internet hosting events.
The neighbor mentioned Momeni “appeared actually unsettled” final week, and that he had lately been performing unusually. Simply three or 4 days in the past, Momeni allegedly approached the neighbor and requested him if he needed to journey to Colombia. Two days in the past, he randomly tried to reward the neighbor an “wonderful Eames chair.”
In response to the neighbor, Momeni indicated that he was anticipating a go to from the police, although he solid it as associated to a “battle with some woman.”
The neighbor mentioned he didn't know Lee, and speculated that Momeni might have encountered him at a celebration. He added that he was not altogether shocked that Momeni has been accused of a grisly crime, since he’s a “powerful man, coaching on a regular basis, tremendous into weapons.” Momeni had a number of weapons and knives mendacity round at his bachelor-pad condominium, the neighbor claimed.
Alameda County court docket information obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle present Momeni was charged with promoting a switchblade knife and driving with a suspended license in 2012. He pleaded no contest to the driving cost and the knife cost was dismissed.
Momeni’s arrest was first reported by Mission Native, who mentioned Momeni was the proprietor of a small Bay Space IT enterprise and should have recognized Lee. The pair had been in a automotive collectively on April 4 when a battle broke out, ending with Lee’s stabbing, the outlet mentioned, including that police recovered a knife after the slaying.
Momeni lists himself on LinkedIn because the proprietor of Increase IT, Inc, a enterprise he says provides technological companies and assist. California enterprise information present he based an organization referred to as Increase It Providers LLC in 2010 however that its enterprise license was suspended in 2016. He included Increase IT, Inc in 2021.
Lee, 43, who was the chief product officer of cryptocurrency firm MobileCoin on the time of his demise, had lately moved to Miami however was again within the Bay Space for a short go to when he was stabbed at about 2:35 a.m. in a downtown space studded with different tech workplaces and million-dollar condos. His demise spurred an outpouring of grief from different tech founders and stoked debate about crime within the metropolis.
In an announcement on Thursday, Lee’s household described him as a loving father, son and brother, and mentioned his “dream was to make know-how free and accessible.”
“On daily basis all over the world, individuals work together with know-how that Bob helped create,” the assertion learn.
“Bob will reside on by means of these interactions and his goals of enhancing all of our lives.”
The household mentioned they had been “very grateful” to the SFPD for “bringing his killer to Justice.” They revealed their subsequent steps will likely be to work with the District Legal professional’s workplace to “make sure that this individual shouldn't be allowed to harm anybody else or stroll free.”
“Bob cherished being in San Francisco, and San Francisco cherished Bob. Strolling down the road would generally be tough as a result of each younger individual with a dream would search him out, and he would find time for each one.”
Many pointed to Lee's demise as proof that crime had grown uncontrolled—however authorities mentioned that declare was not again up by the details surrounding Lee’s demise.
“That is extra about human nature, human habits, than it's about our metropolis,” Scott mentioned. “Most individuals who commit homicides know the people who they kill, the analysis reveals that. I do perceive how individuals see and think about issues [about San Francisco], I see it and skim it, I reside right here… however this has nothing to do with San Francisco, this has to do with human nature.”
District Legal professional Brooke Jenkins, who changed Chesa Boudin in a recall vote final yr after vowing to be more durable on crime, took specific goal at Twitter boss Elon Musk for spreading misinformation about random crime in San Francisco after Lee’s demise.
“As you already heard Mr. Lee was murdered by someone that he knew,” she mentioned. “Whereas we’re not going to launch any further details presently, I need to level out that reckless and irresponsible statements like these contained in Mr. Musk’s tweet that assumed incorrect circumstances about Mr. Lee’s demise serve to mislead the world and their perceptions of San Francisco and likewise negatively influence the pursuit of justice for victims of crime because it spreads misinformation at a time when police are attempting to unravel a really tough case.”
She urged individuals to cease “contributing to the unfold of such misinformation with out having precise details to underlie the statements that we make. Victims deserve that and the residents of San Francisco deserve that.”
Jake Shields, a former UFC fighter and buddy of Lee, instructed The Each day Beast that he was “grateful there’s been an arrest made” however was shocked Lee might have recognized his killer. “I’ve by no means even seen Bob in any varieties [of] disgruntlement... so stunning to me,” he mentioned.