Tech mogul Bob Lee was murdered in San Francisco, CA April 04, 2023.
By Gary Raynaldo – DIPLOMATIC TIMES CORRESPONDENT
SAN FRANCISO – A suspect in the stabbing murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee was arrested Thursday, according to the San Francisco Police Department. Nima Momeni, 38, was booked on suspicion of murder, SFPD chief Bill Scott said during a news conference. Police found Lee with stab wounds in the Rincon Hill neighborhood of San Francisco at 2:30 a.m. April 4. He died at a hospital. The brutal murder ignited a frenzy of attacks on the liberal San Francisco city as a bastion of out of control crime, drawing international attention. Many right-wing critics of the left-leaning city jumped to the conclusion, without evidence, that Lee’s murder was another random act of violence San Francisco has been plagued with. Even billionaire twitter boss Elon Musk took to his social media platform to blame San Francisco for what he called the city’s lax attitude toward crime. However, police officials confirmed Thursday that the suspect arrested and Lee knew each other and had been in the same vehicle together before the murder. Momeni was taken into police custody without incident in neighboring city Emeryville, according to Chief Scott.
DIPLOMATIC TIMES VIDEO / San Francisco Police chief William Scott provides an update on the homicide investigation of Bob Lee during a press conference after announcing arrest of a suspect Apr. 13, 2023.
“This doesn’t have to do with San Francisco, this has to do with human nature,”
-SFPD chief Scott said.
(Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times ) San Francisco Police chief William Scott (at podium) provides an update on the homicide investigation of Bob Lee during a press conference after announcing arrest of a suspect Apr. 13, 2023. SFPD District Attorney Brooke Jenkins (right) attended press conference.
The alleged killer also works in tech. Momeni describes himself on his LinkedIn profile as an “IT Consultant/Entrepreneur” and the owner of a company called Expand IT. Momeni will be charged with murder in Lee’s death and is expected to be arraigned Friday, according to San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. Police remained tight lipped on specific details such as how Lee and Momeni knew each other or what the motive was. Lee was the chief product officer for the cryptocurrency firm MobileCoin at the time of his death. District Attorney Jenkins took a swipe at Elon Musk, calling his twitter tweet attacking San Francisco and its law enforcement as “reckless”.
“The killer was a known person to Mr. Lee. I must point out that reckless and irresponsible statements, like those contained in Mr. Musk’s tweet that assumed incorrect circumstances of Mr. Lee’s death, serve to mislead the world in its perception of San Francisco,”
-San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins
(Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times ) San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins (at podium) provides an update on the homicide investigation of Bob Lee during a press conference after announcing arrest of a suspect Apr. 13, 2023. SF Mayor London Breed (left) also attended press briefing.
DIPLOMATIC TIMES VIDEO / San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins provides an update on the homicide investigation of Bob Lee during a press conference after announcing arrest of a suspect Apr. 13, 2023.
(Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times ) San Francisco Police and City officials provide update on the homicide investigation of Bob Lee during a press conference at SFPD headquarters after announcing arrest of a suspect Apr. 13, 2023.
Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times ) San Francisco Police provide an update on the homicide investigation of Bob Lee at packed press conference following arrest of a suspect Apr. 13, 2023.
SF Mayor Says People Who Commit Crimes Will Be Brought To Justice
(Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times ) San Francisco London Breed during an update on the homicide investigation of Bob Lee at press conference following arrest of a suspect Apr. 13, 2023.
“What the people of San Francisco have asked for time and time again as it relates to crime in our city has been accountability. And that is what you see with the two leaders joining us today is accountability to make it clear that people who commit crimes in our city of any capacity will be brought to justice.“
-San Francisco Mayor London Breed
DIPLOMATIC TIMES VIDEO -San Francisco Mayor London Breed during an update on the homicide investigation of Bob Lee at press conference following arrest of a suspect Apr. 13, 2023.
(Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times ) San Francisco Police chief William Scott (at podium) provides an update on the homicide investigation of Bob Lee during a press conference after announcing arrest of a suspect Apr. 13, 2023.
(Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times ) The building below the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge where technology executive Bob Lee was stabbed in front of on Apr. 4, 2023.
(Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times ) The San Francisco building in the City’s Rincon Hill neighborhood where technology executive Bob Lee was stabbed in front of on Apr. 4, 2023.
Residents Relieved Suspect Arrested in Lee’s Murder
DIPLOMATIC TIMES VIDEO / San Francisco Police arrest a suspect in the murder of technology executive Bob Lee Apr. 13, 2023. Residents in the San Francisco neighborhood feel safer after suspect arrested.
DIPLOMATIC TIMES VIDEO / San Francisco Police arrest a suspect in the murder of technology executive Bob Lee Apr. 13, 2023. Residents in the neighborhood feel safer after suspect arrested.
(Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times ) Downtown San Francisco near neighborhood where technology executive Bob Lee was stabbed to death on Apr. 4, 2023.
