The sister of Nima Momeni, the man who allegedly killed tech executive Bob Lee, entered a not-guilty plea Monday morning to charges of driving under the influence and hit-and-run.
Khazar Momeni was arrested by San Francisco police in the Tenderloin Nov. 27 after officers responded to a crash just after 11 a.m. near Geary and Larkin streets. Video captured at the scene showed Momeni speaking to officers outside of her car, which she had allegedly crashed.
She has been charged with four misdemeanors, including possession of nitrous oxide, driving under the influence and two hit-and-runs.
In court Monday, prosecutors said Momeni had cocaine, fentanyl and nitrous oxide in her system.
While she did not appear in court in person, she was ordered to attend two narcotics anonymous classes a week as her case is pending, which is a common practice in such cases, according to the District Attorney’s office.
Attorney John Lee appeared on behalf of her attorney Shawn Salehieh, who did not respond when asked to comment.
Monday’s case is not Khazar Momeni’s only recent run-in with the law.
The 38-year-old was arrested on suspicion of DUI in the Marin County town of San Anselmo on Sept. 22 after she “rammed” her white convertible Mercedes Benz into another car on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard around 5 p.m.
No one was injured in the incident, but Momeni’s car was towed, and she was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to the Marin County District Attorney's Office and the incident report.
The Marin County District Attorney’s Office said the case is still pending.
It remains to be seen how Khazar Momeni’s legal troubles will impact her brother’s case, but his attorneys have said they expect she will play a part in the trial.
Khazar Momeni has a central role in the narrative of the killing as described by prosecutors, who say the motive for her brother’s alleged crime was a feud with Lee. Both men left Khazar Momeni’s home together before the killing.
Prosecutors allege that Nima Momeni questioned Lee about “inappropriate” contact with his sister and drug use before fatally stabbing him twice in the early morning hours of April 4. Lee was a tech executive best known for developing the Cash App.
Court documents related to the case also indicate that Khazar Momeni has a history of substance use. The day before Lee was killed she awoke in a frenzy at the home of Lee’s drug dealer after ingesting drugs, court documents say. Her brother and her husband, Dino Elyassnia, retrieved her and took her home, according to documents.
Khazar Momeni’s case is set to return to court April 17.