Lawyers for Nima Momeni, who is accused of stabbing tech executive and Cash App founder Bob Lee to death, have filed a lawsuit against Nima Momeni after photos of her in a cell at the San Francisco County Jail were released. requested a change of venue for the trial alleging “prejudice” in the area.
After a court hearing to file the motion and set a trial date, lead defense attorney Sahm Zangeneh slammed the release of the photo, calling it “so inappropriate and ugly…We need to move quickly to change the venue.” “I felt that way,” he said. . ”
“Unfortunately, the jury is very negative about the way this case is going and the perception that the media and the public will have about our client,” Zanganeh told reporters. .
In an article published by SF Standard on November 28, the magazine wrote that Momeni was “held in an isolation cell with a metal toilet, a bunk bed, and a desk.”
“One image taken on August 3 shows him standing upright with his arms closed and his chest puffed out next to a desk stacked with books. Another photo shows him smiling and smiling. He is seen peering through security glass. In both photos, he is wearing “his prison-issued orange sweatshirt and pants,” the article reads.
In three of the four photos included in the article, Momeni appears to be looking at the camera with a gentle smile on her face. In another photo, he appears to be styling his hair through the plexiglass window of his cell.
In trouble He has been charged with stabbing Lee to death. Three times in the early morning hours of April 4, 2023, in San Francisco’s East Cut neighborhood. pleaded not guilty.
In his motion for a change of venue, Zangeneh said the San Francisco jury pool was “tainted” with bias stemming from photos of the incident and subsequent media coverage. The reports also extend to Momeni’s sister, Hazar Momeni. Prosecutors claim he had some kind of relationship with Lee.. Thursday’s complaint was filed two days after Hazar Momeni was arrested in San Francisco on suspicion of hit-and-run and drunk driving, according to San Francisco police.
According to police, officers were dispatched to the intersection of Geary and Larkin late Monday morning in response to a report of a vehicle collision. Arriving officers located the driver and witnesses involved and conducted a crash investigation. Officers investigated probable cause to determine that the driver of the vehicle, Hazar Momeni, was driving under the influence. She was booked into San Francisco County Jail on charges of driving under the influence, two counts of hit-and-run, failure to drive within lane, and failure to insure at the scene of an accident.
Momeni’s legal team has not requested a specific location, but has suggested that a location within a 100-mile radius of San Francisco may be unfair to his client.
“I think there is civil liability, but I also think there is some criminal liability,” defense attorney Bradford Cohen said.
In a statement, the magazine said Momeni gave permission for the photo to be taken, that his legal team was contacted before publication, and that he “expressed no objections or concerns about the publication of the image.”
SF Standard Editor-in-Chief Julie Makinen told CBS News Bay Area, “A freelance photographer has permission to take photos inside the prison, and Nima Momeni will also be photographed by the photographer.” Permission has been granted,” he said in a statement. “We contacted Momeni’s legal team prior to publication and they raised no objections or concerns about the publication of the images. The Standard believes the images are entirely newsworthy.”
Momeni’s team has said “unequivocally” that neither they nor Momeni authorized the photo.
“They knew they were buying the photos, the photographers knew they weren’t allowed to take them, and they had been instructed not to take photos of anyone in the cell. And yet, they still took the pictures.The article that was paired with those photos is one of the most disturbing to me.”I have seen cases where the defendant is innocent until proven guilty,” Cohen said. He continued. “Their actions have made this system no longer fair and just.”
The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office said the person who took the image “violated established media rules and unethically violated conditions put in place to protect the safety and privacy of incarcerated people.” .
The photographer had come to the prison for a Los Angeles Times article about administrative isolation cells. Momeni is being held in another part of the county jail for protection.
The sheriff’s department said the sale of a photo that was not the intended story of the visit resulted in “a further violation of media regulations and a blatant disregard for the agreed upon terms.”
“SFSO unequivocally condemns such conduct, which undermines mutual trust between law enforcement and the media and undermines the well-being of incarcerated individuals and the integrity of information shared with the public.” That’s why,” said Tara Moriarty, SFSO Director of Public Affairs.
Speaking to reporters after Thursday’s hearing, Zanganeh called Lee a “celebrity” in the tech industry and compared prejudice to such status, saying, “If the Los Angeles Lakers were the victim of a murder… “Do you think the defendant is capable of doing such a thing?” How do I get a fair trial in LA? I don’t think so. ”
Judge Rochelle C. East expressed her displeasure with the photo in court and said the Sheriff’s Department, which runs the county jail, takes the matter “very seriously” and has launched an investigation.
“They are dealing with this,” she said.
During the hearing, Cohen called the release of the photos “very prejudicial, next-level type of thing I’ve never seen before.”
The judge set a date to hear the change of venue motion on January 25th and a preliminary hearing date on March 15th. The trial date is subject to change depending on the outcome of the change of venue motion.