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The sister of a man accused of killing tech entrepreneur Bob Lee has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and a hit-and-run.
Khazar Elyassnia, 38, was identified as the driver of a vehicle involved in a crash Monday by the San Francisco Police Department.
Officers were called to the incident at Geary and Larkin streets on the edge of the Tenderloin around 11 a.m., where they located her along with witnesses.
Elyassnia was booked into the San Francisco County Jail and charged with driving under the influence, two counts of hit and run, failure to drive within lane and failure to provide insurance at the scene.
His brother Nima Momeni is accused of stabbing Cash App founder Lee, 43, in the heart with a four-inch black-bladed kitchen knife. Prosecutors believe he killed Lee after questioning him about his alleged sexual relationship with his married sister.
Khazar Elyassnia, sister of a man accused of killing tech entrepreneur Bob Lee, has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and hit-and-run.
His brother Nima Momeni is accused of stabbing Cash App founder Lee, 43, in the heart with a four-inch black-bladed kitchen knife.
Prosecutors believe he killed Lee after questioning him about his alleged sexual relationship with his married sister.
San Francisco police officers identified Elyassnia as the driver and conducted a field sobriety test and determined she was driving under the influence.
“On November 27, 2023, at approximately 11:08 am, San Francisco Police Officers responded to Geary St and Larkin St for a report of a vehicle collision,” a police statement reads.
‘Upon arrival, officers located the driver involved and witnesses.
‘Officers conducted a traffic collision investigation. In the course of their investigation, officers developed probable cause to determine that the driver of the vehicle was driving under the influence of alcohol.
“The driver, identified as Khazar Momeni, a 38-year-old San Francisco resident, was booked into the San Francisco County Jail.”
It is unclear whether Elyassnia, married to prominent plastic surgeon Dr. Dino Elyassnia, has been released on bail.
He has regularly supported his brother in court since his arrest on April 13. Momeni has pleaded not guilty to Lee’s murder and faces a sentence of 26 years to life in prison if he is convicted.
His arrest came more than a week after Lee was found bleeding in the early morning hours of April 4. He later died in a hospital.
Surveillance video from Lee’s last night shows him entering the elegant Millennium Tower downtown, where Momeni’s sister lives with her husband, a prominent San Francisco plastic surgeon.
Video footage then shows Lee and Momeni leaving the building together shortly after 2 a.m. and leaving in Momeni’s car.
Lee was found shortly after 2:30 a.m. in San Francisco’s Rincon Hill neighborhood, which has tech offices and condominiums but little activity in the early morning hours.
Elyassnia was identified as the driver of a vehicle involved in a crash Monday by the San Francisco Police Department. Pictured: Elyassnia leaving court after her brother’s hearing in October.
She was booked into San Francisco County Jail and charged with driving under the influence, two counts of hit and run, failure to drive within lane and failure to provide insurance at the scene.
Elyassnia supported her accused brother Momeni, along with several other family members, during a court hearing at the San Francisco Hall of Justice in October.
He wore an all-black suit, including large black sunglasses, and showed off a huge wedding ring as he paused briefly on the stairs outside the court.
Lee and Elyassnia were allegedly part of an underground drug and casual sex scene; She could appear as a witness at the trial.
Momeni was denied bail on October 2, with the judge rejecting the defense argument that he posed no danger to society because he was, at worst, an inept killer.
Lawyer Saam Zangeneh, who represents Momeni, argued that his client was not the premeditated, cold-blooded killer described by prosecutors.
Judge Bruce Chan rejected his request for $1 million bail for the April murder of the Cash App founder.
The trial also heard from a drug dealer, Jeremy Boivin, who allegedly sold drugs to Elyassnia the day before Lee’s murder.
Prosecutors say Momeni killed Lee after a dispute over his alleged relationship with Elyassnia. Brass said Elyassnia’s husband could also be called as a witness.
Lee’s family was in court in San Francisco for a previous hearing in July that included testimony from a police officer who detailed how he tried to resuscitate him as he lay dying from stab wounds.
The account was part of the evidence formally presented in the case by Deputy District Attorney Omid Talai and included photographs of a knife that prosecutors said Momeni used to stab Lee.
Lawyer Saam Zangeneh, who represents Momeni, argued that his client was not the premeditated, cold-blooded killer described by prosecutors.
Momeni, dressed in an orange prison uniform, whispered and waved to his sister Khazar Elyassni and his mother Mahnaz Momeni, who were sitting about 20 feet behind him in the courtroom at the San Francisco Hall of Justice.
San Francisco Police Officer Cedric Hood was one of two officers who attempted to save Lee’s life after he was found bleeding on Main Street in the early hours of April 4.
SFPD Officer Hood explained how he found a silver knife with a black handle inside a closed parking lot.
Investigators later discovered it was a 4-inch Joseph Joseph brand kitchen knife.
While on the scene, a homeless man was found sleeping about 40 feet away from where Lee collapsed.
The man was resting near some trash bins and was also questioned by police at the scene, but he didn’t make much sense when officers spoke to him.
Crime scene investigator Rosalyn Check also described how Lee had left a trail of blood after the fatal stabbing.
Drops of blood stretched from the parking lot along Main Street, just outside to the Portside apartment complex where Lee was later seen on video desperately banging on the doors as he searched for help.
Blood was found on the side of the apartment block and also on a telephone box directly outside, which Lee had also attempted to use, The Standard reports.
Assistant District Attorney Talai also showed other evidence, including the trail of blood Lee left behind as he staggered for help.
He also showed video footage showing Lee and Momeni leaving his sister’s condo building before the stabbing occurred.
The Portside on Main Street, San Francisco, where Cash App founder Bob Lee collapsed and died after being fatally stabbed on April 4.
Lee was later seen on video desperately banging on the doors of an apartment complex while searching for help.
District Attorney Talai previously said during a hearing in May that the knife was part of a unique kitchen set belonging to Momeni’s sister and that analysis showed Momeni’s DNA on the handle of the weapon and Lee’s DNA on the bloody blade.
Momeni’s lawyers told the court that the two men had a cordial relationship and that Momeni had no motive to kill him.
The comments from Momeni’s lawyers came during a preliminary hearing, where the prosecution presents its evidence and a judge decides whether there is enough to move forward with the trial.
Prosecutors have said Momeni, 38, planned the April 4 attack that left Lee dying on a desolate San Francisco street.
Lee created Cash App, a mobile payment service, and was the product manager for the MobileCoin cryptocurrency.
Momeni is expected to appear in court again on Thursday.