SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Technology consultant on duty Cash App founder Bob Lee In his own defense on Wednesday, he testified that he was making a “bad joke” to stop drinking and drug use late at night when the famous entrepreneur suddenly attacked him.

In her first public statement about the events leading up to Lee’s death, Nima Momeni said she joked with Lee that he might want to spend his last night in San Francisco with his family instead of finding a strip club.

Momeni said Lee pulled out a knife and attacked him, forcing him to defend himself. He said Lee then walked away without showing any signs of being injured. Momeni said he called a lawyer the next day when he learned of Lee’s death.

“He is a very famous man,” she said. “I’m a regular Joe, an immigrant.”

Lee, 43, was found staggering on a deserted street in downtown San Francisco, dripping blood and calling for help. He later died in hospital.

Prosecutors say 40-year-old Momeni He planned the April 4, 2023 attack Following a dispute involving Lee’s younger sister, Khazar Momeni, with whom he was friends. They say Momeni took a knife from a unique set in his sister’s house, took Lee to a secluded area and stabbed him three times before running away.

The defense said Lee acted erratically and aggressively, sleeping only six hours during the four-day work period. cocaine and ketamine and drinking.

Momeni did not admit his guilt. If convicted, he faces 26 years to life in prison.

But Momeni, who took the witness stand on Wednesday, said the two men were on good terms after his sister threw them both out of her house at 2 a.m., saying she wanted to sleep after partying for hours and smoking drugs.

Momeni said they got into his BMW and he started driving while Lee checked his phone to find their destination. After going over a pothole, he pulled the car over, causing Lee to spill his beer. Lee got out of the car and Momeni followed, thinking Lee was about to throw up.

That’s when he said he made the “bad joke” about seeing his family.

“It went from zero to 100,” Momeni said. “You could see the anger.”

Deputy district attorney Omid Talai scoffed at the story on cross-examination Wednesday.

“Did he want to kill you because of a bad joke?” Talai said in disbelief.

“I’m not sure why he took that out,” Momeni said. “I was afraid for my life.”

Momeni backed down Wednesday afternoon after Talai asked him about text messages and statements from others. Cross-examination will continue on Thursday.

Surveillance video from Lee’s last night shows him entering the luxurious Millennium Tower downtown, where Momeni’s sister lives with her husband, a prominent San Francisco plastic surgeon.

The video also shows Lee and Momeni leaving the building after 2 a.m. and driving off with Momeni’s car. The grainy video also shows two men getting out of the car at an isolated spot near the Bay Bridge.

Prosecutors say that’s where Momeni stabbed Lee, while the defense says that’s where Lee attacked Momeni.

Police found a 10-centimeter knife in the secluded area where Lee was stabbed. Prosecutors said tests showed Momeni’s DNA on the gun handle and Lee’s DNA on the bloody knife, but the defense presented an expert witness who said police should have done so. I tested the handle for fingerprints, namely Lee’s.

Lee’s death stunned everyone technology community While fellow executives and engineers praise the charismatic entrepreneur’s generosity and intelligence. At the time of his death, Lee was chief product officer of cryptocurrency platform MobileCoin. He was the father of two children.