An ex-politician faces at least 20 years in prison for the murder of a Las Vegas reporter

LAS VEGAS — A Democratic former Las Vegas-area politician will learn Wednesday how long he will serve in Nevada state prison after being convicted of killing an investigative journalist who wrote articles criticizing his behavior in office and an intimate relationship with a female colleague brought to light. .

A jury convicted Robert Telles of murder in August for ambushing and killing Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German outside German’s home during Labor Day weekend 2022. The jury set Telles’ sentence at 20 years to life in prison, and a judge on Wednesday could invoke several sentence enhancements to increase the minimum to 28 years before Telles, 47, is eligible for parole.

German, 69, has covered crime, courts and corruption in Las Vegas for 44 years. At the time of German’s death, Telles was the elected administrator of a Clark County office that handles unclaimed estates and probate matters.

Telles lost his primary for a second term after German’s May and June 2022 stories described unrest and harassment at the Clark County Public Administrator/Guardian office and a romantic relationship between Telles and a female employee. His law license was suspended after his arrest.

Police sought public assistance to identify a person captured on neighborhood surveillance video driving and walking in a maroon SUV while wearing a wide straw hat that hid his face and an oversized orange long-sleeved shirt. Prosecutor Pamela Weckerly showed footage of the person wearing orange slipping into the side yard where German was stabbed, dismembered and left dead.

At Telles’ home, police found a maroon SUV and cut-up straw hat and a gray sneaker similar to those worn by the person seen in the neighborhood video. Authorities did not find the orange long-sleeved shirt or a murder weapon.

Telles testified for hours during his trial, admitting for the first time that the reports about the office romance were true. He denied killing German and said he was “entrapped” by a broad conspiracy involving a real estate company, police, DNA analysts, former colleagues and others. He told the jury that he had been the victim of crusades to root out corruption

“I’m not the kind of person to stab someone. I did not kill Mr. German,” Telles said. “And that is my testimony.”

But the evidence against Telles was strong – including his DNA under German’s fingernails. Prosecutor Christopher Hamner said Telles blamed German for destroying his career, ruining his reputation and threatening his marriage.

Telles told the jury he had been taking a walk and going to a gym at the time German was killed. But evidence showed that around the same time, Telles’ wife sent him text messages asking, “Where are you?” Prosecutors said Telles left his cell phone at home so he couldn’t be tracked.

The jury deliberated nearly twelve hours over three days before finding Telles guilty. The panel heard painful sentencing, hearing testimony from German’s brother and two sisters, along with emotional pleas for leniency from Telles’ wife, ex-wife and mother, before ruling that Telles could be eligible for parole.

Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt may increase Telles’ sentence to eight years for use of a deadly weapon in an intentional, intentional killing; because German was over 60 years old; and because he lay in wait for the attack.

German was the only journalist killed in the US in 2022, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. The nonprofit has records of 17 media workers murdered in the U.S. since 1992.

Katherine Jacobsen, the commission’s U.S., Canada and Caribbean program coordinator, said in August that Telles’ conviction “sends an important message that the killing of journalists will not be tolerated.”

Telles’ attorney, Robert Draskovich, has said Telles plans to appeal his conviction.