A Nevada jury has found a former Las Vegas politician guilty of murdering an investigative journalist who wrote articles critical of his conduct in office.
Robert Telles, a former Clark County public administrator, was accused of killing 69-year-old investigative reporter Jeff German in a side yard of the journalist’s home in 2022.
In its Aug. 28 verdict, the jury found Telles guilty of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon on a victim aged 60 or older. They deliberated for nearly 12 hours over three days before a unanimous vote.
Prosecutors argued Telles stabbed German to death over a series of critical articles that appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Among the claims made by German were Telles engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member and that he often harassed and bullied his staff at the Clark County Public Administrator’s Office.
Prosecutors say German was murdered after internal communications from the office were going to be provided under a public records inquiry. Telles, an attorney who practiced civil law before he was elected in 2018, lost his primary for a second elected term after stories criticizing his leadership appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal in May and June 2022.
Jury Recommends Life Sentence
The jury has recommended a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years. The jury heard from both the Telles and the German families before coming to their recommended sentencing.
German spent 44 years covering crime, courts, and corruption in Las Vegas.
Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt will consider the jury’s recommendation before officially sentencing the former Democratic politician on Oct. 16.
Telles has been held without bail since his arrest several days after German’s body was found in 2022. He has maintained his innocence since being arrested.
During the trial, he told jurors that the police, DNA labs, and a local realty company he investigated for a fraudulent housing kickback scheme were all part of a conspiracy to frame him. He did not provide any evidence for this claim.
Telles’ defense attorney, Robert Draskovich, tried to argue that surveillance footage from the day of the murder showed another individual driving the car the killer used. Draskovich said the profile didn’t match Telles, and the person in the video had hair. His client is bald.
Prosecutors said surveillance videos showed Telles’ maroon SUV leaving the neighborhood near his home and driving on streets near German’s home around the time of the murder.
Telles’ defense attorney, Robert Draskovich, has said his client plans to appeal the verdict.
