The fight to shift the high-profile murder trial of Nima Momeni out of San Francisco has hit another snag as defense attorneys scramble for more time to bolster their change-of-venue plea. Momeni, charged with the fatal stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee in April last year, has his case delayed again after his lawyers sought a month's continuance, citing new information pertinent to their argument for moving the trial. According to SFist, defense attorneys Saam Zangeneh and Tony Brass told Judge Eric Fleming they needed to adjust their strategy and would share their new findings with prosecutors within 10 days.
The legal team previously filed a 12-page motion arguing that Lee's prominence in the tech community rendered him a "celebrity" and a "hometown hero," which could potentially bias the local jury pool. Referencing local media coverage including "prejudicial" jailhouse photos published by the SF Standard, the defense asserts that these images continue to surface despite pushback from the Sheriff's Office. In a football-coach metaphor, Zangeneh told the SFist, "We changed our strategy slightly."
Meanwhile, the prosecution, led by District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, stands firm against the defense's motion. In a 25-page rebuttal, Jenkins argued, "Pervasive publicity alone does not establish prejudice," citing denied venue-change requests from past high-profile cases, such as that of Richard "the Night Stalker" Ramirez. In her rebuttal, she refuted the defense's claims, asserting that they had provided no evidence that media coverage had impacted public opinion, as reported by SFist.
During what was anticipated to be an argument session on Thursday, Momeni's attorneys instead requested the delay. Brass emphasized the unique nature of the case, stating, "Generally speaking, change of venue motions are very difficult to win. And so, I'm not necessarily saying we're going to have a hard time winning it, Because I think we have, there's real merit to our motion. And it's a unique case. So, I think our position isn't going to change, but we need to substantiate some of the things we're saying," in an interview obtained by NBC Bay Area. The court has scheduled the next hearing for February 22, with Judge Fleming revealing he had already started drafting an opinion but agreed to the continuance.
The defense's strategy and the ongoing delays have taken their toll on the victim's family. Bob Lee's ex-wife, Krista Lee, dismissed the defense arguments and expressed her desire for the trial to remain in San Francisco. The emotional weight of the proceedings continues to bear heavily upon her and her family, as expressed in a statement obtained by NBC Bay Area.
