The high-profile murder trial of Nima Momeni, the man charged with killing Cash App founder Bob Lee, continued Tuesday in San Francisco, with prosecutors trying to discredit a key defense expert witness.
Retired San Francisco police sergeant Steven Pomatto took the stand Tuesday morning continuing his testimony as an expert defense witness who has experience analyzing wounds.
Pomatto testified it was reasonable to conclude the knife that was identified as the murder weapon was in Lee's right hand, and he may have been injured as Momeni tried to wrangle it away from him.
Prosecutors questioned Pomatto's experience. He served in the U.S. Navy for nine years in special operations. But there was confusion during his career at SFPD whether he served in special operations or as a Navy SEAL – two very different things -- and prosecutors say he lied about that experience.
On Monday, Momeni answered jurors' questions, with some asking why he didn't call the police after what he testified was an attack by Lee. They also questioned why Momeni didn’t call police when he found out Lee had died.
Momeni testified that he was not hurt during the altercation with Lee in the early morning hours of April 4, 2023, when Lee was found stabbed to death in a secluded area of San Francisco. Momeni added that Lee too seemed fine when he left, and for that reason, he did not call 911.
The trial originally was expected to wrap up this week, before the Thanksgiving holiday, but that no longer seems probable.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
