Prosecutors allege that the tech consultant accused of killing Cash App founder Bob Lee planned the attack.
Nima Momeni allegedly took the 43-year-old victim to a secluded location in San Francisco and stabbed him during an altercation apparently involving the suspect’s sister.
The motion to detain the 38-year-old without bail is the first official report that may have led to Mr Lee’s death on April 4 in a desolate part of the city.
Momeni was arrested on Thursday and appeared in court Friday without entering a plea.
He is scheduled to be arraigned on April 25.
The judge agreed to keep Momeni behind bars without bail at a hearing on Friday. If convicted, he faces 26 years to life in prison.
When the judge asked him if he agreed to deny the right to a speedy trial, he didn’t speak beyond saying “yes, your honor.”
Nima Momeni to stand trial accused of assassinating Cash App founder Bob Lee in San Francisco
His sister Khazar Elyassnia sat in the front row of the hearing along with her husband Dino Elyassnia, a prominent San Francisco plastic surgeon, and two other family members.
As Momeni entered the courtroom, an older woman made a heart shape with her hands, and the masked Momeni nodded at them with a smile.
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott announced Momeni’s arrest on Thursday and said the two knew each other but declined to elaborate on their connection.
He also declined to name a possible motive.
The motion to detain Mommeni relies on surveillance footage and the testimony of a friend who was with Mr. Lee on the afternoons and evenings before his death.
Documents show it happened the day before when the friend had been drinking with Mr Lee and Ms Elyassnia at another person’s apartment.
That night, friends said he and Mr. Li left the apartment.
read more:
Tech consultant arrested for stabbing Cash App founder
Elon Musk condemns ‘horrific’ fatal stabbing of Cash App founder
Nima Momeni to stand trial accused of assassinating Cash App founder Bob Lee in San Francisco
Afterwards, they went to Mr Lee’s hotel room, without Mrs Elyassnia, and noticed that during the conversation Momeni asked Mr Lee about whether his sister was “using drugs or engaging in any inappropriate behavior”, according to the document.
Mr Li assured Momeni that no wrongdoing had occurred. It was not immediately clear whether the conversation took place in person or over the phone.
The friend and Mr Li parted ways at around 12.30am. Minutes later, Mr. Li could be seen on video surveillance entering the Millennium Building, where public records show Elyassnias owned a unit.
The video also shows Mr Lee and Momeni leaving the building shortly after 2 a.m. in Momeni’s BMW.
Prosecutors said Momeni drove to a dark and secluded location and attacked Mr Li with a kitchen knife, stabbing him three times, one of which was in the heart.
He then hastened his departure “to allow the victim to die slowly,” according to the motion. Police recovered a knife with a 4-inch blade at the scene.
The motion also shows a text message saying Mrs Elyassnia sent Mr Lee to check on him because her brother was “very tough on you” and thanked him for “handling it well”.
The death of the Cash App founder has rocked the tech industry, with friends and former colleagues mourning the father they described as brilliant, gregarious and doting on his two children.