Deliberations in Nima Momeni Trial for Bob Lee's murder to resume Monday
On Monday, a jury that will decide the fate of Nima Momeni will reconvene for a seventh day of deliberations.
Momeni stands accused of murdering tech executive Bob Lee in April of 2023.
"From my perspective, I think it's a good thing the jury is taking a long time. It means they understand the gravity of the situation," said Shannan Dugan, an attorney who's followed the case from the courtroom. "They don't want to let a murderer off, but they also don't want to convict a man of murder if he didn't do it. So, I think the fact that they're taking a long time speaks highly of the jury and they understand how important their job is."
Dugan said jurors have had a lot to digest throughout the course of the trial.
"This jury could be deadlocked. That might be one of the reasons why this is taking so long," she said.
Prosecutors argue Momeni attacked Lee because he was upset about an incident involving Lee and his sister. Momeni and his defense team argue Lee attacked him, and he was acting in self-defense.
Dugan said although Momeni is charged with first-degree murder, there is a possibility the jury would acquit there but still convict him of a lesser charge.
"He's charged with first degree murder, which requires premeditation, but there are also what are called lesser included offenses – which are second degree murder and manslaughter," she said. "Second degree murder is if he didn't have that premeditation but he intended to stab Bob Lee without any legal justification. For manslaughter, if he acted in the heat of passion or impulsively, but without that premeditation or without any kind of planning, they could convict him of manslaughter."
If the jury cannot come to an agreement, a hung jury would result in a mistrial and the case would have to be re-tried from the beginning with a new jury.
At the beginning of the trial, the judge had set a hardship date of Dec. 12, meaning jurors could leave and go back to their normal lives. But late last week, jurors requested more time, all agreeing to stay on, so they could unanimously come to a verdict. They're set to reconvene on Monday at 1:30 p.m.
"I think they're going to come back with something. I mean, who knows what they're doing exactly in that jury room, but, I think they're going to come back with something," Dugan said. "The fact that they're coming back at 1:30, I suspect they wanted to give all of the fellow jury members time to really solidify their decisions and sleep on it – I don't know if that's going to be a verdict of guilty, an acquittal, a hung jury, but, I suspect they're going to come back with something on Monday."