Tech world stabbing suspect makes first court appearance

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — Nima Momeni, the tech entrepreneur accused of killing tech executive Bob Lee in San Francisco, made his first appearance in court Friday morning to request a delay in his arraignment.

Appearing in the Hall of Justice courtroom dressed in an orange jumpsuit, Momeni, 38, said nothing, and was formally charged with murder. A San Francisco Superior Court judge set his arraignment for April 25.

Momeni is being represented by criminal lawyer Paula Canny but, because she is out of town, was represented Friday morning by Canny’s brother, Robert Canny. Robert Canny did not return a request for comment by press time.

Momeni stands accused of stabbing to death tech executive Bob Lee, 43, in the very early morning hours of April 4. Momeni evidently knew Lee, the founder of the mobile payment service Cash App. Like Lee, Momeni heads the tech company Expand IT, which he founded in 2010. While it’s unclear how well the two men knew one another, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said Thursday they were able to connect them.

“We follow the evidence and there’s a lot of evidence. There’s a lot of work to be done on this case and there’s still evidence we need to locate,” Scott told reporters.

Reports so far say Lee and Momeni were riding in Momeni’s car on April 4 when they began to argue. Police say Momeni stabbed Lee several times with a knife that was found later only a short distance from the spot to which officers responded.

According to police reports, officers arrived on the scene to find Lee with stab wounds. He was transported to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center where he died.