Lee, 43, was stabbed on April 4 at around 2.35 a.m. in the city’s Rincon Hill district. Lee is the founder of the mobile payment software Cash software and the current chief product officer of cryptocurrency firm MobileCoin.
Police detained Nima Momeni, of Emerydale, California, early on Thursday morning for Lee’s murder, according to San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott.
Little information about the events leading up to the deadly stabbing was provided by police and prosecutors, although they were able to determine that Lee and Momeni were acquainted.
‘This doesn’t have to do with San Francisco, this has to do with human nature,’ Scott said. ‘Research shows most people who commit homicides know the people they kill.’
Both the police chief and San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins criticized commentators who jumped to conclusions about the homicide. Jenkins also called out billionaire Elon Musk by name for his tweets after Lee’s death.
‘Violent crime in SF is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately. Is the city taking stronger action to incarcerate repeat violent offenders @BrookeJenkinsSF?’ Musk said in a tweet shortly after Lee’s death.
‘Reckless and irresponsible statements like those tweeted by Mr. Musk assumed incorrect circumstances about Mr Lee’s death,’ Jenkins said. The district attorney said the Twitter CEO’s statements ‘negatively impact the pursuit of justice, as it spreads misinformation at a time when the police are trying to solve a difficult case.’
She continued: ‘We all should and must do better about not contributing to the spread of such misinformation without having actual facts to underly the statements that we make. Victims deserve that, and the residents of San Francisco deserve that.’
Momeni is scheduled to be arraigned and formally charged with murder on Friday at 1.30pm.
Lee was reportedly stabbed near a deserted intersection in Rincon Hill, a tony residential neighborhood located adjacent to the San Francisco Bay.
The arrest was first reported by Mission Local, citing multiple police sources.