VERDICT WATCH CA - Cash App Creator, Bob Lee, Stabbed to Death, San Francisco, Apr 2023 *Arrest*

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  • #361
The defendant's attorney is bugging me big time. I get it is her job to defend her client but she doesn't have to be running her mouth to the press. The sister is a grown adult, a married woman, I don't think anyone was forcing her into the decisions she was making. By her text to Bob Lee she knew her brother did something and she expressed love towards Bob. The only self defense was probably Bob Lee trying to defend against the knife. Instead of taking responsibility for his actions it sounds like NM is going to try and trash his supposed friend's reputation, further injuring his grieving family, all while his mom and sister are refusing to speak to law enforcement, which to me means they are hiding the truth. That family just comes off like real aholes, all this is imo.
Thanks for expressing this.
I wrote a whole paragraph about my impressions of Canny and that family but thought it better not to post....really do not want a TO. It was pretty harsh.

I'll just say that I'm not too fond of the idea of trashing Bob Lee and manipulating stories and events in order to "save their reputation" (as the mother publicly expressed in so many words early on in the investigation) and to present NM as some kind of victim rather than a killer.
IMO
 
  • #362

Article references DNA on recovered knife.
Thank You for this article, @Zinn. To me, the Defense sounds like it has a weak case, an almost foolish case, but JMO. I guess it's believable if Momeni was drugged out of his mind, which is not excuse or an acceptable reason to murder.


Momeni’s attorney, Paula Canny, said today that Momeni “had no idea that Bob Lee was mortally wounded” until the news was publicly disseminated upon his arrest.
m1432.gif


[...]

“This was never a ‘whodunit?’ It was always a ‘what happened’” Canny said to a packed courtroom on Thursday.

t3619.gif
“People can have a fight and not know that someone has been mortally wounded,” Canny added.
She later called the stabbing a “a cross between self-defense and an accident.”

and then this...

This isn’t done by accident, this is done violently. This is done with force,” Talai said.

m1804.gif
Canny denied the prosecution’s version
of events, including that the wound length exceeded four inches. She said Momeni’s DNA was on the knife because he was “the one who threw the knife over to make sure that no one had access” to it.

BBM and MOO
 
  • #363
Thank You for this article, @Zinn. To me, the Defense sounds like it has a weak case, an almost foolish case, but JMO. I guess it's believable if Momeni was drugged out of his mind, which is not excuse or an acceptable reason to murder.


Momeni’s attorney, Paula Canny, said today that Momeni “had no idea that Bob Lee was mortally wounded” until the news was publicly disseminated upon his arrest.
m1432.gif


[...]

“This was never a ‘whodunit?’ It was always a ‘what happened’” Canny said to a packed courtroom on Thursday.

t3619.gif
“People can have a fight and not know that someone has been mortally wounded,” Canny added.
She later called the stabbing a “a cross between self-defense and an accident.”

and then this...

This isn’t done by accident, this is done violently. This is done with force,” Talai said.

m1804.gif
Canny denied the prosecution’s version
of events, including that the wound length exceeded four inches. She said Momeni’s DNA was on the knife because he was “the one who threw the knife over to make sure that no one had access” to it.

BBM and MOO
Also Canny is suggesting that Bob Lee is the one who took the kitchen knife from the sister's home. But the prosecution made it clear that Nima's DNA is on the kitchen knife handle, and Bob Lee's DNA is on the blade.
 
  • #364
  • #365
Thanks for expressing this.
I wrote a whole paragraph about my impressions of Canny and that family but thought it better not to post....really do not want a TO. It was pretty harsh.

I'll just say that I'm not too fond of the idea of trashing Bob Lee and manipulating stories and events in order to "save their reputation" (as the mother publicly expressed in so many words early on in the investigation) and to present NM as some kind of victim rather than a killer.
IMO

I still don't get why Nima's mother needed to hire an attorney.
 
  • #366
  • #367
t3619.gif
“People can have a fight and not know that someone has been mortally wounded,” Canny added.
She later called the stabbing a “a cross between self-defense and an accident.”
There's no where to go with this, but to claim it was self-defense. Prosecution has to stick to it being premeditated in that NM took the knife with him. And here we go with the come back...
Also Canny is suggesting that Bob Lee is the one who took the kitchen knife from the sister's home. But the prosecution made it clear that Nima's DNA is on the kitchen knife handle, and Bob Lee's DNA is on the blade.
NM is still going to have to claim self defense. Don't you think? Where else can Defense go?

RBM / BBM
 
  • #368
I still don't get why Nima's mother needed to hire an attorney.

Just speculating here, but if what the prosecutor said about NM not being a US citizen is true, it's possible his mother and sister aren't, either. They may be worried (whether with good reason or not) that they're going to have some legal problems of their own, even if they had nothing to do with what NM is alleged to have done to BL.
 
  • #369
Could it be a family lawyer on retainer?

It could be, but the mother's attorney is different from Khazar's and Dr. E's attorney.

I wonder if NM's cell phone that was missing for awhile and then showed up could somehow be related to his mother, maybe she lent him her cell phone in the interim? Or maybe he called her that night/morning? Or she has other information? Just speculating. Or maybe she has information from the daughter, or could be a witness to something. JMO.
 
  • #370
Just speculating here, but if what the prosecutor said about NM not being a US citizen is true, it's possible his mother and sister aren't, either. They may be worried (whether with good reason or not) that they're going to have some legal problems of their own, even if they had nothing to do with what NM is alleged to have done to BL.

I thought I read that Khazar is a U.S. citizen, I will have to go back and check.

I wonder why BM hasn't applied for U.S. citizenship after emigrating to the U.S. Sounds like he has been here for over 20 years, and also has been working in the U.S. so he has to be a permanent resident. The next step is usually application for citizenship. Was it rejected? All JMO and speculation.
 
  • #371
Just speculating here, but if what the prosecutor said about NM not being a US citizen is true, it's possible his mother and sister aren't, either. They may be worried (whether with good reason or not) that they're going to have some legal problems of their own, even if they had nothing to do with what NM is alleged to have done to BL.

His sister likely has citizenship if her husband is a U.S. citizen, which is very likely, given his national stature in his field, etc.

And if that is the case, the sister would have likely applied for citizenship for her mother after she became a citizen. Just speculating here, JMO.
 
  • #372
There's no where to go with this, but to claim it was self-defense. Prosecution has to stick to it being premeditated in that NM took the knife with him. And here we go with the come back...

NM is still going to have to claim self defense. Don't you think? Where else can Defense go?


RBM / BBM

NM's attorney also mentioned "accident," when she said "self-defense or accident." I guess she could argue that Bob Lee turned aggressive with the knife and a fight between the men ensued and he got stabbed. Something like that. A kind of accidental self-defense. But the prosecution is arguing that Bob Lee's DNA was on the blade, and NM's DNA was on the knife handle.

eta The prosecution also said that it wasn't an accident, the three-inch knife went in four inches, so it was thrust with intent, not an accident.

Canny made light of the knife when she spoke with the media, something like it was a little paring knife from the kitchen. She's revolting, JMO.
 
  • #373
To me, the Defense sounds like it has a weak case, an almost foolish case, but JMO. I guess it's believable if Momeni was drugged out of his mind, which is not excuse or an acceptable reason to murder.
I would agree.

But.... I wonder what the DA is asking in regards to Murder 1 or Murder 2?

Murder one carries a 21(+) year minimum sentence in California. And... California's revolving door for Murder 1 convictions is stuck in the "closed" position with no more easy outs via creative math good time, over crowding etc.

If the DA is demanding Murder 1, a 21(+) year sentence for a what forty something year old? makes desperate defenses worth making as not doing so results in an automatic near life sentence.

For this case, even Murder 2 is a looong time (13 years minimum) given the age of the defendant and living conditions in CA prisons.

Then factor in possibility of a wealthy family hiring a regional star defense attorney who makes an effective presentation of a desperate argument to a select jury. Could the jury then go for Manslaughter?

In the end, given the age of the defendant, and the penalties for Murder 1 and 2, there is little to lose on desperate arguments and alot to gain- at least potentially.
 
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  • #374
  • #375
In California, both voluntary and involuntary intoxication are defenses to criminal cases. So far, it seems what we're hearing is that NM was anti-drug and was not himself intoxicated.


So there goes that defense. I too am pondering what the heck he's going to use as his defense. It sounds premeditated, since he took a knife from his sister's kitchen. She surely will have to testify as to when she last saw that knife and whether she gave him permission to have it. I wonder when she noticed it was gone.

Somehow, Bob Lee was feeling comfortable enough to leave her apartment with her brother. IOW, it sounds like he was lured to his death by NM, to me.

JMO
 
  • #376
NM's attorney also mentioned "accident," when she said "self-defense or accident." I guess she could argue that Bob Lee turned aggressive with the knife and a fight between the men ensued and he got stabbed. Something like that. A kind of accidental self-defense. But the prosecution is arguing that Bob Lee's DNA was on the blade, and NM's DNA was on the knife handle.

eta The prosecution also said that it wasn't an accident, the three-inch knife went in four inches, so it was thrust with intent, not an accident.

Canny made light of the knife when she spoke with the media, something like it was a little paring knife from the kitchen. She's revolting, JMO.

So it was a paring knife. Easy to conceal. Really tortuous way of killing someone. How awful. i'm blocking the number of stab wounds reported.

I don't think the defense is going to be able to claim Bob stabbed himself or that Bob brought the knife. For some reason, I don't see this defendant as the type of person who would be thinking about DNA while committing a crime of this type.

jmo
 
  • #377
There's no where to go with this, but to claim it was self-defense. Prosecution has to stick to it being premeditated in that NM took the knife with him. And here we go with the come back...

NM is still going to have to claim self defense. Don't you think? Where else can Defense go?


RBM / BBM
Well, in theory, NM could reverse himself and say that he was on drugs which is regarded as a possible mitigating defense in California. Then he could try to get it down to involuntary manslaughter. I guess. Sounds weak to me.

I just don't see how self-defense is going to work here. But you are right that there seems to be little else for them to call upon. Maybe NM will claim he had been drinking. Here's what I can find on the self-defense clause to involuntary manslaughter in California (if he can get the charges changed);

You acted in self-defense or defense of others

The legal defense of self-defense/defense of others applies when all of the following are true:

  1. You reasonably believed that you or someone else was in imminent danger of being killed, suffering great bodily injury, or being raped, maimed, or robbed;
  2. You reasonably believed that the immediate use of deadly force was necessary to defend against that danger; and
  3. You used no more force than was reasonably necessary to defend against that danger.
NM could claim he thought his sister was in imminent danger. How he can show #2 is beyond me. I don't see how he can get #3 to work either, as merely threatening Bob Lee in order to make Bob stay away from his sister would have been "reasonable" (to some people). Killing Bob Lee in order to make Bob stay away from his sister is too much force. Stabbing him at all is too much force. It's not like Bob Lee was forcing the sister to take drugs and go to parties, if those are the facts that NM will reply upon.

I just looked at 10 different MSM articles trying to see exactly what Penal Code violation NM is charged with, and not one of them was specific (all simply said "murder"). Sigh. It is of course 187(a) (First Degree Murder). What I am reading is all about how his attorney says it was an accident and self-defense, but I do not think self-defense is a good defense for First Degree Murder!

This is going to be a wild and bumpy ride, though, given that it's San Francisco (IME, having lived in the Bay Area/SF for 15 years). If NM can plea bargain to involuntary manslaughter, he could actually get off with probation.

IMO.
 
  • #378
Melanie Woodrow
@MelanieWoodrow

Nima Momeni's preliminary hearing was potentially set for 5/30 today. Afterwards, his attorney Paula Canny again told reporters that Momeni stabbed tech exec/founder Bob Lee in self-defense. I had some questions about that and one of Canny's responses surprised me. Hear it here:

So is she going to argue that Bob Lee accidentally stabbed himself in a drug-induced stupor after he and NM struggled? And then Bob Lee threw the knife away?

Or after NM left, some unknown person came by and stabbed Bob Lee (but didn't rob him)? (And with Khazar Momeni's kitchen knife.)

She will argue that Bob Lee didn't call 911 for help right away.

And when Bob Lee did call 911, he didn't name NM as the person who stabbed him.

edited to clarify last line
 
  • #379
There is a lot of "blaming the victim" going on in the media, with details about Mr. Lee's "lifestyle." Bob Lee is the victim here, and his lifestyle is not on trial. The person who stabbed Bob Lee in the heart and left him on the street to die is the only one on trial here. I hope Bob Lee's family will get an attorney/family representative who can speak out for them on behalf of Mr. Lee and make it clear what a good and decent man he was. And that his life was snuffed out by Nima Momeni.



edited for grammar
the only one blaming the victim is NM attorney. they are trying to sway public opinion, but as a bay area local... (and bay area locals will be the jury here) most are non plussed by "partying" no one cares. i said the same about heidi plancke. both deserve justice, at the same time its highly believeable they partied. not that much judgement here for that.
 
  • #380
This was surprising. Turns out it wasn't a stranger that killed Bob Lee, but a acquaintance and a friend.


View attachment 422819
ive posted stats awhile back that SF murder rate isnt high, but i think they got deleted as off topic.

its been known it was an acquaintance for awhile.
 
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