Nima Momeni trial: Defendant combative on stand with prosecutor
SAN FRANCISCO - Nima Momeni interrupted, chastised, and went toe-to-toe with a prosecutor in his murder trial for the killing of Cash App founder Bob Lee in San Francisco on Thursday.
Momeni challenged the prosecutor on numerous fronts and tried to ask questions instead of answering them. But it will be up to the jury to assess his credibility.
Prosecutor Omid Talai grilled Momeni for the second straight day, trying to poke holes in what he called Momeni's "story" about killing Cash App founder Bob Lee in self-defense in April 2023.
However, Momeni tried to turn the tables on the prosecutor, asking him questions, repeatedly talking over him, and accusing him of cherry-picking his texts and testimony to make him look bad.
The prosecutor doubled down, asking Momeni if it was a coincidence that Momeni was repeatedly asking him questions, and whether this was what he was doing to Lee on the morning authorities say he killed him.
Momeni testified he turned down Lee's invitation to go to a strip club by telling Lee, "If I knew this was my last night in town, I would have spent it with my family instead of f-ing around in strip clubs." Momeni said it was a "bad joke."
Momeni said his quip set Lee off and that the Cash App founder pulled a knife from his jacket pocket. Momeni said he fended off the attack before Lee walked off.
He said he had no idea Lee had been stabbed.
Momeni confirmed he threw the knife over a fence and never called the police.
Authorities said Momeni was upset at Lee because Momeni's sister had been given too many drugs by Lee's alleged dealer.
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Nima Momeni trial: Defendant describes how blowup over ‘bad joke’ led to deadly stabbing
The defendant accused of killing Cash App founder Bob Lee testified in his own defense on Wednesday.
"You see Nima (Momeni) aggressive on the stand, you've seen him trying to take control of this room, like his arrogance and entitlement are on full display here," Lee's brother Tim Oliver Lee said outside court.
KTVU legal analyst Michael Cardoza said, "Mr. Momeni is the poster person for why defendants should not testify. In this case, he had to testify. His testimony is clearly showing the jury that he's got a bit of a temper and is antagonistic."
Momeni wrapped up his testimony Thursday with attorneys on both sides, but he's not done yet.
The judge allowed the jury to submit written questions to all witnesses. They had plenty of questions for Momeni, which will be addressed on Monday.
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan