Nima Momeni, the man charged in the fatal stabbing of tech executive Bob Lee, appeared in court Wednesday, as new images were released in court filings for the murder case.
Momeni has been held without bail after pleading not guilty of murder last week in Lee's stabbing death April 4 in San Francisco.
On Wednesday, Momeni disagreed with his attorney Paula Canny about the date for his preliminary hearing. He said he wanted the earliest possible date. Canny said she'd like more time to review all the evidence against him.
"From his perspective, or from any criminal defendant's perspective, they're in custody," Canny said. "Who wants to be in jail? Most people want their cases to proceed quickly."
The next hearing is set for May 30.
Also Wednesday, new images from the night of Lee's death were released, showing Lee and Momeni together and apart at different times and places in the city.
The images show Lee arriving at the Millennium Tower at 12:39 a.m. on April 4. He walks into the building and into the lobby. Momeni's sister, Khazar, has a home in the tower.
About an hour and 20 minutes later, Lee is in an elevator in the tower with Nima Momeni. They walk through the tower garage and both of them get into a white BMW convertible.
A photo from near the scene where police believe Lee was stabbed shows him walking up Main Street toward Harrison Street.
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According to investigators, Lee called 911 just before 2:35 a.m. The final photo shows a white car, which according to that 911 call, Lee might have tried to flag down.
In a filing last week by Canny arguing that Nima Momeni should be released from custody, she included letters of support from some of his friends and family.
Among those who wrote letters of support for Nima Momeni were his mother Mahnaz Tayarani and his sister Khazar. In both letters, they described Nima Momeni as generous and kind. They wrote that he helped pay for medical procedures for friends and family in their birth country of Iran. They also both described him as protective – Khazar Momeni writing, in part, "He is protective of me, but never controlling. He watches out for me as I do for him."
Momeni's arraignment had been delayed multiple times, including earlier this month, because Canny said she did not receive the autopsy and toxicology report with enough time to review it. Canny said the report is key in their defense.
According to Lee's toxicology screen, several drugs were present in his system at the time of his death.
