No verdict in Nima Momeni trial for Bob Lee's murder; deliberations resume Monday
Jurors in the trial of Nima Momeni, the man charged with murdering Cash App founder Bob Lee in San Francisco, were unable to reach a verdict during the sixth day of deliberations since getting the case.
Court officials said deliberations would resume on Monday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.
The jury reconvened at the Hall of Justice at 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning. The lack of a verdict came in the face of a looming deadline.
Dec. 12 was the "hardship date" set months ago by the judge during jury selection. When a verdict was not reached by the end of the day Thursday, jurors were able to opt out of the trial and end their participation on the jury.
Court officials confirmed that all of the jurors currently seated will be returning when deliberations resume on Monday.
If any jurors had decided to leave the trial, an alternate would have been chosen and deliberations would have to restart. Additionally, if there weren't enough alternates to fill the jury, then a mistrial would have called.
Late Thursday morning, jurors started their lunch early with plans to return to deliberations shortly after 12 p.m., marking a significantly earlier and shorter lunch break than usual. They also decided to forego the usual scheduled morning break on Thursday as they worked to reach a verdict.
Momeni defense attorney Saam Zangeneh told CBS News Bay Area he was at the Hall of Justice Thursday morning to answer several questions from the jury.
"When you have other people deciding your fate, waiting an hour is an eternity. Imagine waiting six days," said Zangeneh. "And I'm sure [that applies to] all the parties, including the Lees. I know I may have bumped heads with them, specifically Miss Lee, but I feel for them. I feel for everyone in a case like this."
He commended the jury on their hard work during a difficult case, but thought they would come to a conclusion soon.
These guys are committed. I have to give it to them, they're working hard. They've sat down and endured a very emotional trial…I know they want to complete their job," he said. "I don't foresee them deliberating much longer. I don't know, you know? That's really kind of an educated guess. They're clearly not in agreement."
Jurors have been instructed by the judge that they must be unanimous in whatever verdict they reach in the trial.
On Wednesday, Zangeneh was asked about how long deliberations had gone on so far. Zangeneh did not seem to think the length of deliberations was an indicator of which way the jury was leaning.
"This is one of the longer deliberations that I've dealt with personally, but that doesn't mean anything you know?" he said. "Listen, they're doing their jobs. That's all I can say."
Late in the deliberations Tuesday, the defense filed a motion for a mistrial, saying prosecution witness Borzu Mohabezzi had lied on the stand and accused the prosecution of knowing about it. The motion was quickly denied by the judge.
Mohabezzi described himself as a close friend of Lee's. During his testimony in October, he detailed what drugs they took as they partied with the defendant's sister the day before Lee was killed.
Jurors received the case just over a week ago on Dec. 4 following 21 days of testimony that became contentious at times when the defendant repeatedly sparred with the prosecution during cross-examination.
Momeni is accused of killing Lee in a remote part of San Francisco's East Cut neighborhood under the Bay Bridge on an early morning in April 2023. The prosecution argued Momeni stabbed the tech executive in a rage over him introducing Momeni's sister Khazar to an alleged drug dealer who fed her drugs and sexually assaulted her.
During the trial, Momeni's lawyers argued their client acted in self-defense when Lee lunged at Momeni with a knife in hand while high on ketamine and cocaine. The defense said Lee became erratic and aggressive after Momeni made a "bad joke" about the tech executive wanting to visit a strip club instead of spending time with his family.
Momeni was charged with first-degree murder, which carries a sentence of 26-years-to-life in prison. Jurors are also considering second-degree murder and manslaughter in the case.
