Police have arrested a self-described tech entrepreneur in connection with the fatal stabbing of the Cash App founder Bob Lee in San Francisco. Nina Momeni, 38 years old from Emeryville, California, is the suspect. The police claim that Mr. Lee and Mr. Momeni knew each other. According to Mr. Momeni’s linkedin profile, he is a technology consultant and entrepreneur. On April 4, the police discovered Mr. Lee, 43, incapacitated and stabbed near the city center of San Francisco, he then died in the hospital. William Scott, chief of the San Francisco Police Department, disclosed Mr. Momeni’s arrest at a news conference on Thursday.
Mr. Scott stated that Mr. Momeni was being held at the San Francisco County Jail on homicide charges. He did not specify how Mr. Lee and the suspect were acquainted. Criminal records indicate that in 2011 Mr. Momeni was charged with misdemeanor for carrying a switchable but the case was dismissed after he accepted a plea bargain.
According to his Linkedin profile, Mr. Momeni is the owner of Expand IT, Inc. The prosecution desires to detain Mr. Momeni without bail, on Friday, an arraignment hearing has been scheduled. Mr. scott stated that despite the arrest, the investigation into Mr. Lee’s death is ongoing as the case is not closed.
A local news outlet was the first to report on the arrest and identify the suspect as a tech worker. They reported that Mr. Lee and the suspect were in a vehicle and had an altercation before Mr. Lee was stabbed. On April 4 at approximately 02:35 local time (09:35 GMT), police officers first responded to an allegation of the stabbing. Mr. Lee was shown walking down the deserted alleyway, presumably seeking assistance in the CCTV footage that was obtained by the San Francisco Standard. The tech entrepreneur can be seen stabbing towards a parked car and lowering his shirt to expose a wound, but the car drives away before he falls to the ground.
Mr. Lee was discovered unconscious in the Rincon Hill neighborhood with two stab wounds to his torso and officers administered first aid before transporting him to the hospital. He was the MobileCoin company’s principal product officer. Mr. Lee is associated with founding Cash App, a smartphone-based platform that facilitates inter-individual money transfers.
His death elicited numerous tributes from prominent figures in the U.S. technology industry. It also prompted criticism of San Francisco authorities' response to the city’s violent crime. Thursday at a news conference, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins replied to the criticism by stating that her office and the police had worked diligently to solve Mr Lee's and other cases.
She also characterized as “reckless and irresponsible” those who linked Mr. Lee’s assassination to the general security of San Francisco. According to police statistics, San Francisco’s homicide rate is relatively stable. There were 56 homicides both the previous year and the year before that. The city appears poised for a comparable homicide rate this year. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the city has higher-than-average property crime rates, such as larceny and burglary but lower-than-average violent crime rates compared to the other Us cities. Monday Whole Foods temporarily closed its flagship San Francisco location, citing worker safety concerns.
