Nima Momeni arraignment postponed again following toxicology report; Defense attorney says Bob Lee's system 'Walgreens of recreational drugs'
SAN FRANCISCO -- Nima Momeni, the man accused of fatally stabbing Cash App founder Bob Lee last month, had his arraignment postponed for the third time Tuesday, a day after the release of Lee's toxicology report.
Momeni's attorney, Paula Canny, told reporters outside of the courtroom at San Francisco's Hall of Justice that Lee's autopsy and toxicology report released Monday afternoon was going to have a major impact on the defense strategy.
"All information affects strategy and it confirms what I said. Didn't I say last week, I thought that there were going to be a lot of drugs?" said Canny. "There's a lot of drugs in Bob Lee's system. I mean, Bob Lee's system was like the Walgreens of recreational drugs."
Canny said the drugs could make people act "kind of losery and make bad decisions and do bad things."
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins told reporter after the hearing that Canny's comments were a common tactic by defense attorneys to shift blame on victims of crime.
"At this point, regardless of whether somebody has or has not done drugs, that does not give someone a license to kill them," Jenkins said.
The judge postponed the arraignment until May 18.
The medical examiner's report revealed the tech executive died on the operating table and was found to have alcohol, cocaine and ketamine in his system.
For the first time since Lee's death, his ex-wife Krista Lee spoke publicly and expressed her frustration with the delay.
"Very disappointed," she told reporters after being asked about the delay.
Time is what the defense is seeking as they build their case to prove Momeni's anticipated plea of not guilty.
"Of course, we're pleading not guilty because he's not guilty," Canny said.
Jenkins is expected to file a motion to detain Momeni, citing him being a flight risk and risk to the public.
Prosecutors accuse Momeni of driving the tech mogul to a secluded spot in San Francisco's East Cut/Rincon Hill neighborhood and stabbing him over a dispute related to the suspect's sister.
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A witness said Momeni and Lee had previously argued about whether Momeni's sister Khazar Elyassnia had been doing drugs while in Lee's company that evening.
Canny indicated last week that drugs were a part of this case.
"Based on my investigation, I know there's a lot of drugs involved with people other than my client. I know there is lots of drugs," she said.
Court documents released last month included a text message to Lee hours after his stabbing death from Momeni's sister Elyassnia that expressed concern about Lee's welfare because 'I know nima came wayyyyy down hard on you."
Momeni is charged with murder with a sentencing enhancement of using a knife in the April 4 stabbing death of Lee.
