Former Nevada politician Robert Telles was found guilty of murder in the 2022 stabbing death of a prominent Las Vegas investigative journalist over unflattering articles he had authored about Telles’ leadership in office.
The jury of 12 returned the verdict Wednesday, two days after closing arguments on Monday.
Telles, dressed in a black suit and yellow tie, appeared somber as he awaited the verdict. As it was finally read, he bowed and shook his head.
Las Vegas Review-Journal journalist Jeff German, 69, was found stabbed to death outside his home in the Bronze Circle neighborhood of Las Vegas on Sept 3., 2022, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said at the time.
Telles, 47, who had served as Clark County Public Administrator, was identified as the suspect in the case and arrested on Sept. 7, charged with open murder with a deadly weapon.
German had written stories about allegations of bullying and favoritism in Telles’ office. He also reported allegations that Telles had a romantic relationship with a female employee — which Telles admitted for the first time in court on Thursday was true.
The politician was apparently angry that German was pursuing other stories of possible misdeeds, police have said.
Telles narrowly lost his bid for re-election for his office, which oversaw the estates of Clark County residents who die without legal next of kin, in the summer of 2022. After losing his seat, he took to social media to criticize German’s reporting and the Las Vegas Review Journal.
Telles had pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
In the trial that kicked off with opening arguments on Aug. 14, prosecutors said Telles was motivated by revenge for German’s reporting on his leadership. Telles, who testified in his own defense, claimed that he was framed and police mishandled the investigation.
The jury was shown security video that depicted a person wearing bright orange clothing and a straw hat enter German’s yard, where they stayed “lying in wait” for German. When German opened his garage and entered that side yard, he was attacked and brutally stabbed. Another video showed a person in orange getting into a maroon SUV, similar to a Telles family vehicle.
When investigators searched Telles’ home with a warrant shortly after German’s murder, they found partly destroyed shoes and a cut up pieces of a straw hat resembling the suspect’s clothes.
Prosecutors had also said Telles’ DNA was found beneath German’s fingernails. When asked about it, Telles testified that he believed it was planted.
Prosecutors also presented a text from Telles’ wife that said, “Where are you?” That text came at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2022 — the same time the security video showed the maroon SUV in German’s neighborhood.
Telles proclaimed his innocence when he took the stand.
When asked about the articles German had written, he said “I wasn’t happy about them” but added “I don’t know that I ever hated him.”
Telles named colleagues in his office, real estate agents and business owners that he claimed framed him for German’s killing in retaliation for his claimed efforts to uproot corruption when he served as public administrator.
However, Telles couldn’t provide an explanation for how people he claimed conspired to frame him for the murder were able to put key pieces of evidence in his home.
“You know, the idea that Mr. German’s throat was slashed and his heart was stabbed. … I am not the kind of person who would stab someone. I didn’t kill Mr. German,” Telles said. “And that’s my testimony.”
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