Suspect in Cash App founder Bob Lee’s deadly stabbing has prior knife arrest
Nima Momeni was ordered to destroy switchblade after 2011 charge dismissed
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The suspect in the deadly stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee has previously been arrested for a knife offence.
Police in San Francisco arrested tech executive Nima Momeni on Thursday at about 5am.
Mr Momeni, 38, allegedly stabbed the 43-year-old after being involved in an altercation while driving in San Francisco’s Rincon Hill early on 4 April.
San Francisco Police Chief William Scott confirmed Mr Momeni had been charged with one count of murder at a press conference on Thursday.
The suspect was arrested without incident at an address in Emeryville, a city in the Bay Area, early on Thursday.
The Mission Local news site was the first to report the arrest, and said that the pair were known to each other.
Mr Momeni had a criminal record before being accused of murder. In 2011, he was charged in Alameda County with selling a switchblade knife and driving with a suspended licence, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. The knife charge was dismissed and he pled no contest to the driving offence.
He was sentenced to 10 days behind bars and three years probation, a $900 fine, and he was ordered to destroy the knife. He was also charged with drunk driving in 2004.
In 2017, the IRS told him to provide $18,433 in unpaid taxes, and $32,014 in 2011.
A search of property records showed Mr Momeni owns an apartment at 4053 Harlan St in Emeryville that he purchased for $525,000 in 2020.
Mr Momeni was arrested at the address in Emeryville at around 5am on 13 April.
Shocked residents reported seeing a large number of police officers outside the address, according to KCBS.
On the night before Lee’s death, a woman entered the building where Mr Momeni lived at 2.30am and began screaming his name, residents told The Los Angeles Times.
The woman left when neighbours threatened to phone police, according to posts on a building social media group. It’s unclear if this incident was connected to Lee’s death.
Sam Singer, a San Francisco area PR executive, had an office next to the suspected killer and said the arrest had come as a shock.
Mr Singer described Mr Momeni as a “very nice, welcoming guy” in comments to KTVU.
Mr Singer was invited into Mr Momeni’s home, telling The Chronicle that he found Mr Momeni to be “warm”. Afterwards, Mr Momeni handed Mr Singer some business cards, offering his services.
Mr Momeni’s arraignment was initially set to take place on Friday, but it has now been rescheduled for 25 April. However, he appeared in court briefly on Friday morning, where he smiled at two family members.