those words, momeni said, caused lee to go from zero to 100, whipping out a knife and swinging at momeni. >> there is still no clear evidence of how the knife got to the scene of the crime and who took it. he doesn't have to prove his innocence. the jury has to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the prosecution proved the case of murder. >> reporter: momeni said he didn't know lee was fatally injured when he walked away, but tossed the knife to prevent lee from getting it back. upon cross-examination by the prosecution, momeni went from calm ask collected to agitated and defensive. a shift, attorney shannon dugan, said could hurt his case in the eyes of the jury. >> got into it with the d.a., and he pushed back in a way that some jurors could think oh, this is a new side of nima momeni. we didn't see this earlier, but we see it now. could he have acted like that on the night of the stabbing? >> reporter: the prosecution pressed momeni on why a bad joke could lead to lee wanting to stab him. momeni said the bad joke was one he took to heart. the prosecution responding, yes, he did take i

momeni said lee started circling around him swearing. he said lee pulled out what looked like a knife and that momeni tried to control his hand, afraid for his life. momeni, again, reenacting that stabbing saying he was trying to stop lee's arm by pinning it against lee's chest, pushing him back two times. he then said lee walked away in the other direction, appearing to look at his phone. and he said he didn't realize lee was injured. he backed away in the other direction and tossed the knife over a fence because he didn't want lee to return and pick it up. our lauren toms was in the courtroom and said jurors listened intently as momeni in a measured demeanor at first took them through the events of that night. >> reporter: so far momeni is coming off as calm and a credible witness. telling us that he has been dying to tell his side of the story. today marked his first chance to do just that. >> well then lauren said things got more heated during momeni's cross-examination. pressing momeni on how a bad joke could lead lee to wanting to

questions including whether momeni was intoxicated and whether he gripped the knife.n sew it leaves many questions unanswered, including how the knife could have ended up in his hand. it puts the credibility of his testimony in doubt. >> and the knife just appears on main street. nobody has testified about him taking it or handling it. that is a huge hole if you want to show intent. >> reporter: jurors probing momeni about his self-defense training. one juror asking momeni if he is familiar with a common practice of twisting the wrist to force a knife wielding person to drop their weapon. he said he did twist lee's wrist, however, an autopsy didn't show any bruising or injuries consistent with that statement, throwing doubt into momeni's version of the violent altercation. >> and in california when you assert self-defense and you provide some evidence, that is another thing they have to disprove. they had to prove he had the intent to stab bob lee. >> reporter: one thing they did not question momeni on is the upbringing in iran after they fled the country, leaving his

momeni to get up and explain what happened during that altercation. >> momeni will continue answeringuestions from jurors when the trial resumes monday morning and then both the prosecution and defense will get one last chance to question momeni on the stand. we'll cover it all for you. >> our lauren toms has been in the courtroom since the trial began. coming up at 6:00, we'll get her big takeaways from today's testimony and more expert reaction. >>> alameda county district attorney pamela price held her first public press conference since voters recalled her. price has not conceded the race and did not comment on the recall. today's press conference regarded a different matter. price was announcing criminal charges against 11 employees at sanity rita jail. as we first reported yesterday, the charges in connection to the death of 45-year-old maurice munk found dead in his cell a month after he was arrested following a dispute with an ac transit bus driver. munk was schizophrenic and his family said he was denied medicine he needed to treat his mental illness and left to die in his ce

momeni's attorneys turned to a self-defense expert to reinforce momeni's account. the expert demonstrated in court using a pen to symbolize the knife, how lee could have pulled the knife from his right front pocket during the altercation, arguing that this scenario matched momeni's claims, but to the prosecution and lee's family this reenactment was out of the question, an attempt to rewrite the events that cost them their loved one. >> the only way they found somebody to defend that was to find somebody who has no expertise. unfortunately, they cannot hear bob's side of the story and they can't see who bob was from what's in that courtroom today. >> reporter: now the defense is expected to call at least one more expert witness before resting their case. that opens the door for the prosecution to begin its rebuttal. the prosecution seeking to convince a jury momeni deliberately killed bob lee and the prosecution is tasked with the burden of proving their case beyond a reasonable doubt to convince a jury that this warrants a conviction of first degree murder. >> lau

and they focused on a claim from momeni yesterday that a bag joke triggered lee to attack him. they say he got aggressive and pulled a knife on momeni and lee got stabbed while acting in self-defense. today lee's brother called momeni a bully. >> my brother was an excellent father and member of our family and was taking care of my dad. nothing lines up and knowing bob and his personality, it's so far outside his character it's not something that could ever exist in reality. >> momeni testified he had been hanging out with lee the night of his death but claims lee blew up after momeni jokingly said that he would rather spend time with his family than hanging out in a strip club. the prosecution focused their line of questioning on that claim trying to get a sense how that could have caused lee to get so angry. lauren toms has been in the courtroom since the start of the trial and says today prosecutors also honed in on a series of texts. >> reporter: we left off with prosecutors trying to get a better understanding of momeni's relationship with his sister. they pulled up a list

momeni as he was acting in self-defense. december and joining us now to talk more about this is shannon dugan, a criminal defense attorney who has been a spectator inside the courtroom every day of this trial. thank you for being with us today. >> thank you for having me. >> on thursday, three long time friends of bob lee took the stand, refuting nima momeni's claim of acting in self-defense saying bob lee could not have possibly been an aggressor. was the testimony affected? >> i think it was incredibly effective. the jurors people had known bob lee for many years, one had known him for almost 20 years. they had work with him and had socialized with him. and a really key importance they had done drugs with him sometimes over a multi-day period. there are people who had never testified before in court and they had to basically come in and admit that they had used illegal drugs but what they said that was so key was that even though , even when bob lee was under the influence of drugs, including cocaine and ketamine , he was

that is after momeni said he was sad and heartbroken to learn of bob's passing, momeni's sister texting around the same time, "bob never touched me. no one did." >> so it doesn't necessarily seem reasonable to a juror that he would be pursuing a rape case against somebody who had died and nima momeni was sad this person died. it's something that can't be explained necessarily in a way that makes sense and it may cause them to doubt other parts of nima momeni's testimony. >> reporter: during his testimony nima also repeated that he felt the sfpd lied and mischaracterized him and other evidence when questioned about exactly what he feels is inaccurate, unable to produce a clear answer. now court has recessed for the week, giving jurors plenty to think about over the weekend, but in this case jurors get to ask witnesses their own questions. they'll write down their questions on a piece of paper. the judge will take those questions behind closed doors to discuss them with attorneys. the questions they deem appropriate to be asked inside the courtroom, the judge will then ask the witness, in

the prosecutor pressed momeni over his claim the fight started over a bad joke with momeni saying leeight want to spend his final night in town with his family rather than trying to find a strip club. they went over the details of the physical struggle until bob lee walked away when momeni said he didn't know lee was injured and how momeni didn't look for more info on bob lee's death after he heard the headlines. momeni said he figured lee had a separate confrontation with someone else leading to his death. at points the exchange between prosecutors and momeni got intense, even causing the judge to intervene. former prosecutor steven clark says that was likely the goal. >> so what the prosecution is trying to do is get under mr. momeni's skin, get him to have an outburst, get him to come across as someone who is easily angered and what the prosecution will argue is that's the mr. momeni that was at the crime scene that night with mr. lee. there is a very high risk of putting a client on the stand, but it's a risk worth taking for the momeni defense team because the only way to get sel

that nima momeni was driving the car , bob lee's build a beer in the car and nima momeni pulled overthat khazar left under the seat and got out of the car and nima momeni's version he was concerned that bob lee was going to be sick and he got out of the car and he made a bad joke about if this was my last night, would rather be with my family and at a strip club and bob lee went from zero to 100, pulled out a knife yet apparently concealed and nima momeni reacted in self-defense and turned the knife around on bob lee and left, not realizing that bob lee had been stabbed. those are the two versions. >> with the two versions, nima momeni took the stand himself in this was the first time the we have heard from nima momeni throughout this entire saga of events. do you think he made any headway in presenting his side of the story? that he acted in self-defense. he has a jury to convince. >> absolutely, max. he does. because it is a self-defense claim he has to show that he acted in self-defense by the preponderance of the evidence. he actually has something he has to present. and he did m

the prosecution pressed momeni on his story. momeni said lee took it to heart. prosecution responded yes he did referencing the fatal stab wound to the chest. so very dramatic day. >> yeah, absolutely. he'll be back on the stand tomorrow. >> tomorrow. >> okay anne makovec, thank you. >>> now to san mateo county where the board of supervisors unanimously cast a vote of no confidence against the sheriff after the release of an independent report that called on sheriff christina corpus to resign. the report found a pattern of abuse, intimidation and retaliation in the sheriff's office. it also accused corpus of having a personal relationship with her chief of staff. and in a dramatic moment this afternoon, the sheriff showed up to the meeting to condemn the vote and denied the accusations. >> i will not allow the board to threaten me and attempt to fire my chief of staff without cause. this inquiry was politically motivated. and one sided and filled with lies. that is why effective immediately, i'm appointing dr. victor to the positionover assistant sheriff. >> the

tech consultant, nima momeni, charged with the stabbing death of bob lee. both sides are trying to convince the jury to buy their dueling narrative of what happened back in april of 2023. our lauren toms has been following this case for over a year and a half, joining us live. outside the courthouse with today's testimony. lauren? >> reporter: juliette, the defense is charged with proving their theory to a jury that momeni acted in self-defense. and today, we heard from one witness who did add some weight to that theory. without clear video, which this case does not have nearly any scenario is possible. a panel of 17 jurors on tuesday heard testimony from a medical expert who tried to bolster the defense's theory that it is possible that bob lee brought the knife and sustained wounds in a struggle with nima momeni. >> the stab pattern wounds don't match the story that the state is putting out. >> reporter: the prosecution's story is that it was momeni who grabbed the knife from his sister's apartment and used it to intentionally stab lee. a clear case, they

. >>> we are in the fourth week of the murder trial of nima momeni.he main event in the courtroom, a video of momeni recorded by an undercover san francisco police officer during their initial investigation. our lauren toms has been following this case the past year and a half and was in court today. she joins us live with what that video actually means for the trial. lauren. >> reporter: highly appeared and highly disputed video played in court today that up until now could have been a game changer in this trial. it was played despite repeated objections by the defense who claimed it violated attorney/client privilege, an issue that was overruled by the judge. a pivotal moment in the trial of nima momeni unfolded monday as jurors watched a video that prosecutors say showed momeni reenacting the stabbing of bob lee, but as the footage played, it raised as many questions as it answered. one of momeni's defense attorneys, bradford cohen, says despite their objections to the video played in court it isn't as damning as prosecutors led on. >> i think this

judge alexandra gordon told momeni.t five times during the morning session in an effort to keep order on the stand. momeni was often argumentative and tried to speak over deputy d.a. tally at several points. tally asked him if his story made sense given his and other witness testimony. the key is trying to go after momeni and the ancillary issues, such as who brought the knife? why did he leave? is it plausible that mr. lee, who was stabbed three times, just merely walked away? on the stand, momeni seemed intent on sticking to his story. when the prosecutor asked him what he thought or how things happened, momeni would sometimes say he'd like to see the video of the altercation or some other exhibit so he could describe what happened. at one point, the judge told momeni, the prosecutor is not obligated to show him any exhibits while he's asking a question. bob lee's family grew visibly disturbed in court as they watched momeni and the deputy da's exchanges in his effort to get clarity about his st

we are not far from momeni's fate turned over to the jury.have a look at where the case stands. >> reporter: the defense rested their case. this trial is far from over. the move means the defense can not call anymore witnesses or introduce new evidence. but it does pump it back over to prosecutors who are expected to take advantage of their chance to rebutel. >> reporter: rebuttal. >> reporter: momeni's attorneys rested their case. standing firm that a bad joke sparked a deadly altercation with bob lee. >> we feel strongly about how the case is going. i think the jury wanted information that we provided. i feel like the prosecution had a lot of holes in the case and a lot of the case felt force fed. >> reporter: the defense and prosecution narratives could be what what sways the jury. so far no evidence presented to confirm lee was acting aggressive or to prove that lee had any motive to attack momeni. the attorney says that the lack of key details is the case's most glaring weakness. >> the only two people that know who took that knife and w

in one text, momeni thanking lee for talking earlier about an incident with momeni's sister. >> and they are important because there is still a clear lack of motive in this case, where there is still a sense of why did this stabbing occur? and it has been answeredded by one side in this case and that why it happened still has not been answered. >> reporter: in the session, they got their first chance to cross examine nima momeni. momeni said the bad joke was one he took to the heart, where they were responding yes, he did take it to heart, referencing the fatal stab wound that bob lee took to his own heart. >> and these families, by the testimony that stabbed their loved one. >> reporter: that moment is causing the judge to briefly interveep, asking all parties to pause and take a breath. as he faced intense testimony. that is where they will pick back up as they will continue their cross-examination of nima momeni. juliette? >> lauren toms, thank you. >>> and stay with us for the very latest on the trial. lauren will be back in court tomorrow when they will go back on the stand. you can

likelihood with a number that has 27 zeros, all that the prosecution saying showing momeni's intent to use the knife that evening. >> you can get the very latest on everything happening in the bob lee murder trial on kpix.com and the cbs news app. >>> tonight on the cbs evening news we're just five days away from election day and across the country election officials are demonstrating how they plan to keep the process safe and open. maurice dubois is in for norah with a preview. >> hey, juliette. we head to a county in the battleground state in arizona that's put more than $1 million into new election facilities, the investment in transparency and how it will work, that and more headlines tonight on the cbs evening news. >> thank you. >>> on election night be sure to join me and the rest of the cbs news team for complete coverage of all the national, state, and local races. >>> still ahead here at 6:00, we'll take you on a tour of san francisco that's both very spooky and surprisingly educational. sam liccardo gets things done. as mayor of san jose, he took on pg&e and special inter

questions that only momeni will be able to answer. >> without any explanation by momeni it seemed to be well it is possible like and other theory can be. >> reporter: now the defense says that momeni wants to take the stand to tell his side of the story. a story that could prove he acted in delve sfns. now n order to convict a jury must find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. momeni is expected to take the stand in the next couple of days. >> lauren will keep track of the trial. you will find the latest on our website kpix.com. >>> we need to talk about weather. we have changes coming, right? >> we do. several rounds of showers heading our way. they will not add up to a lot once you total everything up. we need to add more moisture to the fire fuels. sending all of the moisture into washington, oregon. it could be making the way into the north bay. already, after the sun comes occupy tomorrow morning there is where the rain will be concentrated. north of the golden gate. we have a good chance, 1/10th of an inch to a quarter of a inch tapering off in the afternoon. the rain chances

the family of bob lee told us outside the courtroom they believe the momeni family tried to cover upof the stabbing in the days and weeks after it happened. lee's brother saying the evidence speaks for itself. >> and i think that the whole family, the whole momeni family, really worked together to cover up this crime from like selling the car to leaving off phones. it's crazy how much these people worked together. they're as crooked as the tower they live in. >> reporter: his words come after the lead sfpd detective testified momeni's brother-in-law googled how to erase an iphone days after the stabbing. that same witness on wednesday said to the courtroom he didn't believe momeni ever had an option to post bond. those few words opened the door for the defense to motion for a mistrial claiming it could have tainted the jury. >> that's not something we were hoping to do. we didn't want the jury to hear that. we thought that was improper. >> reporter: attorney shannon dugan who was inside the courtroom said the jury should never know whether a defendant is in custody or not. >> it is c

prosecutors say momeni killed lee after an argument over momeni's sister, but the the defense is tryingprove it was a case of self-defense saying lee attacked momeni first. our lauren toms was back in court today. >> reporter: the defense has maintained that their client acted in self-defense when they say bob lee attacked nima momeni after what they called a multi-day bender. but today we heard testimony backed by science that could sow doubt. the defense attorneys not backing down from their claim of self-defense saying 98% of the dna found on the blade of the knife used to kill bob lee was his, while 99% of the dna found on the handle of the knife was nima momeni. >> we were saying it wasn't our guy, he wasn't at the scene, we'd be in trouble. we're not saying that. the video shows nima momeni grabbing the knife and throwing it over the fence. and that would explain where his dna is on the handle. >> reporter: the experts said they tested all parts of the murder weapon against both men's dna. they found limited support for momeni's dna on the blade that was covered in lee's blood, an

those words momeni said caused lee to go from zero to 100, whipping out a knife and swinging at momeni. >> there's still no clear evidence of how the knife got to the scene of the crime and who took it. he doesn't have to prove his innocence. the jury has to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the prosecution proved the case of murder. >> reporter: momeni said he didn't know lee was fatally injured when he walked away but tossed the knife to prevent lee from getting it back. upon cross-examination by the prosecution, momeni went from calm and collected to agitated and defensive. a shift attorney shannon dugan says could hurt his eye case in the eyes of the jury. >> got it into the da and he pushed back in a way that some jurors could think oh, this is a new side of nima momeni. we didn't see this earlier. but we saw it now. could he -- have acted like that on the night of the stabbing? >> reporter: the prosecution pressed momeni on why a bad joke could lead to lee wanting to stab him. momeni said the bad joke was one he took to heart. the prosecution responding, yes, he did take it to

gordon told momeni. she interrupted about five times during the morning session in an effort to keep order on the stand. momeni was often argumentative and tried to speak over deputy d.a. tally at several points. tally asked him if his story made sense given his and other witness testimony. the key is trying to go after momeni and the ancillary issues, such as who brought the knife? why did he leave? is it plausible that mr. lee, who was stabbed three times, just merely walked away? on the stand, momeni seemed intent on sticking to his story. when the prosecutor asked him what he thought or how things happened, momeni would sometimes say he'd like to see the video of the altercation or some other exhibit so he could describe what happened. at one point, the judge told momeni, the prosecutor is not obligated to show him any exhibits while he's asking a question. bob lee's family grew visibly disturbed in court as they watched momeni and the deputy da's exchanges in his effort to get clarity about his stor

but the prosecutor doubled down, asking momeni if it was a coincidence that momeni was repeatedly asking questions and whether this was what he was doing to lee on the morning. authorities say he killed him. he testified he turned down lee's invitation to go to a strip club by telling lee, quote, if i knew this was my last night in town, i would have spent it with my family. instead of effing around in strip clubs. momeni testified that was a, quote, bad joke. momeni said that set lee off and that lee took out a knife from his jacket pocket, but that momeni fended off the attack. he says lee walked off and that he had no idea lee had been stabbed. momeni confirmed he threw the knife over a fence and never called police. authorities say momeni was upset at lee because his sister had been given too many drugs by lee's alleged dealer. we spoke to lee's brother and ktvu legal analyst michael cardoza about how the defendant is coming across to the jury. >> what you have seen is seen to be aggressive on the stand. you've seen him. just try and take control of this room like he is. his arroganc

nima momeni has taken the stand in his murder trial today. reenacting the deadly encounter between the two of them. he said lee attacked him in a drug fueled rage with a knife hidden in his pocket after making a bad joke. momeni said he acted in self-defense, pushing them back until he hit a fence. he did not realize lee was stabbed until he walked away. today's hearing brought to life new details about the family. he got emotional at times. talking about leaving iran with his mother and sister after fleeing from an abusive father. and how her drug use was getting if between them. and they say momeni killed lee after a dispute by an accused killer. >>> in oakland, a person found shot and killed inside a vehicle this afternoon. officers responded to the area at 2:30 a.m. >>> the oakland unified school district is looking to avoid school closures in the face of a multi-million dollar budget deficit. their plan is to merge those schools, so students don't have to go to a different campus. and they are set to vote on that proposal next month. >>>

momeni could not say for certain. he also couldn't say why he ultimately threw the knife over the caltrans fence. testifying at the time, it made sense because he was walking away while he testified earlier in the day. he thought maybe somebody else had killed bob lee. april fourth. he also testified later this afternoon, he contacted attorneys after he learned of lee's death on the fifth, saying, i wanted to be protected. i knew who he was. several times during testimony today, momeni sparred with tala, at times asking the prosecutor questions or saying things like, i'm sorry if my answer doesn't satisfy your expectations. bob lee's brother oliver, had this to say. >> you have seen him be aggressive on the stand. you've seen him. just try and take control of this room like he is. his arrogance and his entitlement are on full display here. >> direct and cross-examination of nemo momeni concluded today, and the jurors began submitting their questions. there were so many questions that the judge decided it made more sen

momeni said he told his sister not to let bob back into her apartment.said he didn't know bob had died until the next day. he also said he didn't know he was linked to the murder until the day of his arrest nine days after the stabbing. even suggesting to prosecutors that it could have been done by anyone else walking in the dimly lit street at 2:30 in the morning. >> he had a story, he was sticking to it. and that part was good. he did not contradict himself. but as the da pointed out, it didn't make sense that he stabbed somebody. didn't realize that the person had been stabbed or fatally injured and then left the scene. >> reporter: he told the jury he thought bob was fine after the violent altercation. walking away on his phone. bob is seen on surveillance footage collapsing minutes later. neither side has shown evidence of bob being aggressive or that momeni had motive to attack the man he said he was becoming friends with. >> it will be up to the jury to weigh how reasonable it is that somebody could be stabbed even in self-defense, stabbed three t

what he did today to prepare for his new job and the trial of nima momeni continues. what a woman who is one of the last people to see bob lee alive told jurors today. the news at 530 starts right now. thank you so much for joining us. i'm garvin thomas and i'm raj mathai. there's a new pilot program that's looking to help move businesses forward. this program involves providing surveillance cameras to dozens of businesses in east san jose. and it comes after a string of crimes in that area. as nbc's ian cull explains, the cameras are coming free of charge after a rash of break-ins and robberies in recent months, businesses in alum rock village in east san jose say they feel more protected tonight. that's because 35 of them received free video surveillance systems today. all the businesses are on alert. if someone if someone suspicious is walking around or scouting the area. doctoun en owns a officend has seen her neighbors hit by a slew of prty crimes. she says until today, only about half of those neighbors had security cameras. having cameras around the neighborhoo

a key detail that could sow doubt in the theory that nima momeni had motive to attack bob lee. now, earlier in the day we heard testimony from a dna expert called by the defense who shed some doubt into the dna testing done on the knife used in the stabbing. but he maintained earlier testimony that rubber is a poor surface to pull fingerprints off. all of this setting up testimony from the defendant himself, nima momeni, which we can expect next week. >> follow every step of the momeni trial, go to kpix.com. >>> for two and a half years now, people living in ukraine have been under the constant threat of war, air strikes, bombings, ground invasion, death everywhere. thousands have been killed, many, many have lost everything they own. and this ukrainian family decided to move across the world and set their sights on meant hill. a few months later when they started to settle in, their apartment caught fire in a stroke of terrible luck. they're now getting a helping hand when they need it the most. >> reporter: katerina and her family are in shock looking at what's left of what w

momeni's account. our lauren toms will have a full wrap-up at 6:00. >>> san jose's police chief has released new details about a police shooting over the weekend. officers shot at a man accused of assaulting and terrorizing his family. officers were called to that home around 8:00 last night on sutter street off south first in the washington-guadalupe neighborhood. the suspect was drunk and threatening his family at their home with a knife. a woman reported that the suspect threw dishes. she told 911 she had to lock herself and four kids in a bedroom while the suspect tried to break in threatening to kill her. the suspect injured a family member who tried to deescalate the situation. >> the 911 call taker could hear children crying in the background as the caller desperately awaited help. the family member told officers he had to stop the suspect from physically assaulting the survivor. >> police say after repeated orders to drop the knife, officers began to leave the room and the suspect lunged at the

prosecutors say momeni had motive to kill lee after he introduced momeni's sister to an accused drug dealer who she says sexually assaulted her. >>> a texas ceo and fire chief are part of the team helping daniel lurie to take over as san francisco mayor, providing counsel sam altman and also on the team, a former stockton mayor, a nonprofit ceo and chair of the san francisco democratic party as well as a retired sfpd commander. lurie is set to take office in january. >>> perhaps the biggest story of the day is the weather has taken a turn. first alert weather now, zoe mintz here to talk about a storm that's going to bring a lot of rain to the bay area. >> oh, yeah. it's my first atmospheric river living here in the bay area, the first in my life, but it's going to pack quite a punch as we step out mid to late this upcoming week. look how high our rain chances are tuesday and throughout the next seven days. let's look at big picture pattern. this is what's most important, the fact we're getting a fire hose of moisture directly to california and today it's sunny, quiet. this is all ahe

momeni stuck to his story last week. he is sticking to it again.e says he acted in self-defense when bob lee lunged at him after the two took drugs in the car. now, this morning, momeni says he did not see any blood. there was no indication that mr. lee was hurt during that encounter. he's also doubling down that there was no indication that he was hurt as he walked away. he's also been asked more questions on the exact timeline of when he first contacted lawyers, when he got advice from attorneys, as well as why he didn't call the police. upon learning of bob lee's death. now the defense turned down the opportunity to ask questions of their witness. prosecutor talai just moments ago got back into asking questions again for mr. momeni and almost immediately, marcus, you could feel the mood in the courtroom. it got contentious again, not just between zenni and the prosecutor, but also those defense attorneys. the judge even saying at one point, both of you stop the only words i want to hear now are mine and mr. momeni. we do have our reporter marin

. >> nima momeni is the man accused -- >> nima momeni took the stand last week marking a crucial moment the murder of cash app founder, bob lee, as two competing narratives of what happened that night emerge. the prosecution's story, momeni was angry at lee over something that happened with his sister. he drove lee on main street, stabbed him, and left him to die. the defense's story, momeni acted in self-defense. testifying before the court, momeni said lee actually attacked him with a knife after he said what was a bad joke. momeni said in a split second, he redirected the knife at lee to ward off the attack, and then threw the knife over a fence, fearing lee would come to get it. momeni did the not know lee had been stabbed. shannon shannon was in the courtroom. >> he faced the jurors. that's always something that matters. they will look at him as a human being and not essentially the boogeyman. and he may have raised some doubts. >> during cross-examination, there is a moment when a prosecutor asked momeni why he did not call the police, but rather contacted an attorney. in the hour

momeni said lee pulled a knife out and that momeni was afraid and had to control it over and over again to lie. asked how much time between the dumb joke and the knife coming out, momeni could not say for certain. he also couldn't say why he ultimately threw the knife over the caltrans fence. testifying at the time, it made sense because he was walking away while he testified earlier in the day. he thought maybe somebody else had killed bob lee. april 4th. he also testified later he contacted attorneys after he learned of lee's death on the fifth, saying, i wanted to be protected. i knew who he was. several times during testimony today, momeni sparred with talai, at times asking the prosecutor questions or saying things like, i'm sorry, my answer doesn't satisfy your expectations. bob lee's brother oliver had this to say. >> you have seen as you see nima be aggressive on the stand. you've seen him. just try and take control of this room like he is. his arrogance and his entitlement are on full display here. >> directing cross-examination of nima momeni concluded today, jurors began hand

nima momeni testifies this is what made lee turn on him. prosecutors, however, argue lee was in town for his family and had a good relationship with them. he previously told jurors he drove off from the scene because he did not realize lee had been stabbed repeatedly, and he claims he only found out that lee was dead the next day. he testified this morning that he had received legal advice by april fifth. now we are currently in a break. actually, i should say the court has resumed it was expected to resume about five minutes before 11. we do expect cross-examination to take most of the day, if not all. our sergio quintana is on this story and will update with the very latest on our evening newscast and at nbcbayarea.com. we're live in san francisco. ginger conejero saab, nbc, bay area news. a lot to follow in this case. thank you. ginger. well, later this afternoon, disgraced san jose council member omar torres is expected back in court. he's accused of sexually assaulting a young relative. authorities are also investigating at least one o

momeni says on the stand, but how he comes across to this jury. does he come across as someone who's composed? on cross-examination, prosecutor omid talai immediately began trying to unravel his version of the story. at certain points, the questions and answers between them became tense. the judge even had to step in a couple of times to remind them to remain calm. at the end of testimony today, bob lee's family members reacted, saying they had trouble understanding his story. they've had a long time. they've had 18 months to come up with something and this is what they're coming up with. nima momeni testimony will continue tomorrow at the hall of justice in san francisco, sergio quintana nbc, bay area news. all right. thank you very much, said hill. oakland police investigating a deadly shooting. it is the city's first in weeks. you can see that large police response on 71st and hamilton. opd says it got a lot of calls about a shooting around 230 this afternoon. when they arrived, they found a man with gunshot wounds. he died. no other details ha

momeni said that set lee off and that lee took out a knife from his jacket pocket, but that momeni fended off the attack. he says lee then walked off and that he had no idea lee had been stabbed until later. momeni confirmed he threw the knife over a fence and never called police. authorities say momeni was upset at lee because his sister had been given too many drugs by lee's alleged dealer. we spoke to lee's brother and ktvu legal analyst michael cardoza, about how the defendant is coming across to the jury. >> what you have seen is seen nima be aggressive on the stand. you've seen him. just try and take control of this room like he is. his arrogance and his entitlement are on full display here. >> mr. momeni is the poster person for why defendants should not testify in this case. he had to testify. his testimony is clearly showing the jury that he's got a bit of a temper and is antagonistic. he's been in. >> now, he did wrap up his testimony with both sides, but he's not done yet. the judge has allowed the jury to ask questions in written format, and they will start going over those qu

the defense team in the nima momeni nima momeni case called for its first witness to the stand in san francisco today. he is on trial for the murder of cashapp co-founder bob lee. today, much of the defense focused on an independent dna expert. nbc bay area's sergio quintana was in court and joins us live from the hall of justice with the very latest. sergio. yeah, jessica, we've just wrapped up now the fourth week of this trial, and this is the first full day of testimony from the defense. they called up a dna witness and a friend of césar mamani. she is the sister of the defendant. that that woman says she's also known césar since 2018. today's main witness for the defense doctor, greg hampikian. he's an expert on dna analysis and a now retired professor at boise state university. on the stand there was almost immediately an objection from the prosecution and a conference, with the judge seemingly aiming to limit what he can talk about. his main testimony involved the small amount of dna found on the handle of the knife from a second unidentified person. it's what the san francisco

. >>> attorneys the judge and jurors are now in the fourth week in the murder trial of nima momeni.ath of cashapp founder bob lee. so the main event in the courtroom was a video of momeni recorded by an undercover san francisco police officer during their initial investigation. our lauren toms following this case has been from day one has more from the courtroom on what that video means for the trial. >> reporter: a pivotal moment in the trial of nima momeni. unfolded monday, as jurors watched a video that prosecutors say showed momeni reenacting the stabbing of bob lee. but as the footage played, it raised as many questions as it answered. one of momeni's defense attorneys bradford cohen says despite their objections to the video played in court, it isn't as damning as prosecutors had let on. >> i think this piece of evidence actually hurt them more than it helped them. because they made a promise. they made a promise to the jury and that promise was you are going to see this but i think everyone that was in the room when they saw that video, it was not what they promised. >> repor

momeni answered as he's testified before that lee walked away after the confrontation and that momeniad no idea then that lee had been stabbed. momeni said he was physically fine. well, he also said his attorneys told him if police needed to contact him, they'd reached out to him. the defense then called retired san francisco police inspector stephen amato to the stand while demonstrating with an attorney for momeni, amato said he believed it was a reasonable explanation that lee came at momenti with a knife that momeni grabbed lee's wrist, which led to lee getting stabbed in the hip, and that a further struggle then led to lee getting stabbed in the heart and chest. according to amato. but on cross-examination, prosecutor amir talai went hard on the former inspector's credibility, suggesting amato had lied about having been a navy seal while trying to get a promotion. amato denied lying, but acknowledged he was getting paid $400 an hour for his testimony, had never worked as a homicide inspector or qualified in court as an expert in self-defense. we spoke to ktvu legal analyst michae

prosecutors say momeni killed lee out of anger after the argument over momeni's sister. our lauren toms reports the other side wants to use dna evidence to prove this was really a case of self-defense. they say lee attacked momeni first. >> reporter: as jurors made their way inside the courtroom thursday, they were met with complex testimony from a dna expert who explained that 98% of dna on the blade of the murder weapon was that of bob lee's. while 99% of dna on the handle of the weapon was that of nima momeni's. their testimony challenging the defense's theory that it could have been lee who with you holding the knife -- was holding the knife. but defense attorney says the testimony does not change their theory that momeni acted in self-defense. >> i don't think it affects it at all guys. the video shows that he is the last person to touch the knife. not disputing that. >> reporter: the prosecution is hoping the data speaks for itself. the expert explained they tested all parts of the murder weapon. a 7.5-inch joseph joseph paring knife, the blade and the handle were

when momeni told lee he didn't want to go to a strip club like lee had asked, momeni said he'd rathere with his family, which he testified was a bad joke. while standing with his attorne to demonstrate, he said leended up coming at him with a knife under the bay bridge. momeni said he deflected the blows and lee ended up getting stabbed in the chest. momeni said he threw the knife over a fence because he didn't want lee to retrieve it. he said lee then casually walked away and that he had no idea lee had been stabbed. but authorities say momeni was upset that his sister, who suffered from drug addiction, had been given too many drugs by lee's alleged drug dealer, which led to a, quote, bad trip and her passing out. a prosecutor began his cross-examination of momeni and made clear he believes his version of events does not make sense. ktvu legal analyst michael cardoza says the da's grilling will be critical now that the defense has portrayed their client in the most positive light. we also spoke to bob lee's brother, tim oliver lee. >> in other words, to tell the jury what a good guy

now nima momeni is charged with killing the cashapp founder last april. today's testimony came from some of the people who knew lee well. our lauren toms was in the courtroom again today. she breaks down what the jury heard from these last few witnesses. >> reporter: prosecutors with the final word in this case highlighting bob's character. they say bob could never become aggressive as longtime friends today said just the opposite, describing him as more lovable and like a teddy bear. his brother saying, just bob being bob. bob lee's family walking out of court thursday with a sense of gratitude for friends of lee's who testified to his character, bringing lee to life inside the courtroom. >> think he would have appreciated his friends taking the risk and coming out here and really coming under fire from the defense and from -- and opening up their lives and opening up their lives to scrutiny and opening up, you know, all of this to speak on his behalf. i think he'd be very proud of it. >> reporter: longtime friends painted a vivid picture of lee, a kind