OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
4:07 PM – Wednesday, October 16, 2024
For the murder of investigative journalist Jeff German, former Democrat elected official, Robert Telles, was sentenced on Wednesday to at least 28 years in Nevada state prison.
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Robert Telles was a former Clark County Public Administrator. He assumed office in 2019 and left office in 2022.
Two years ago, the now-deceased writer, who worked for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, revealed an intimate relationship between Telles and a female coworker in addition to other articles of his criticizing Telles’ inappropriate behavior and corruption in the workplace.
After a jury found Telles guilty of murder in August, the court later added sentencing enhancements for factors like “lying in wait, using a deadly weapon, and the reporter’s age” to add eight more years to the minimum 20-year term.
“Lying in wait” refers to “holding oneself in a concealed position to watch and wait for a victim for the purpose of making an unexpected attack and murdering or inflicting bodily injury on the victim,” according to Merriam-Webster dictionary.
Telles spoke to German’s family during the sentencing and expressed his condolences, but he still tried to claim that he was innocent, according to CBS station KLAS-TV.
In his defense testimony, 47-year-old Telles denied killing German by stabbing him in September 2022. However, there was substantial evidence against him, including his DNA found under German’s fingernails.
Telles was the elected administrator of a county office that deals with probate property and unclaimed estate issues at the time. He has been in jail without the opportunity for bail since his arrest.
Nevertheless, Telles plans to appeal his conviction, according to Robert Draskovich, his defense lawyer.
The slain writer, German, was 69-years old. He was a well-respected journalist who covered corruption, justice, and crime in Las Vegas for 44 years.
After German’s articles were published in May and June 2022, which detailed chaos and harassment at the Clark County Public Administrator/Guardian office as well as a secret relationship between Telles and a female employee, Telles lost his primary for a second term in office. After his arrest, his legal license was also suspended.
“Police sought public help to identify a person captured on neighborhood security video driving a maroon SUV and walking while wearing a broad straw hat that hid his face and an oversized orange long-sleeve shirt. Prosecutor Pamela Weckerly showed footage of the person wearing orange slipping into the side yard where German was stabbed, slashed and left for dead,” CBS News reported.
Police discovered a maroon SUV at Telles’ residence, along with sliced fragments of a straw hat and a gray athletic shoe that appeared to be those worn by the individual captured on local CCTV.
When Telles took the stand to defend himself, he was still unable to explain his DNA being found on German or the components of the disguise that were discovered on his home.
For the first time in his lengthy testimony, Telles also acknowledged that the office romance was real, admitting that the reporter’s article was factual. However, he still denied killing German and claimed that a large-scale conspiracy, involving the police, a real estate corporation, DNA experts, former coworkers, and others had “framed” him.
“I am not the kind of person who would stab someone. I didn’t kill Mr. German,” Telles claimed. “And that’s my testimony.”
Telles maintained that German ruined his career, damaged his reputation, and endangering his marriage, according to prosecutor Christopher Hamner.
Additionally, Telles told the jury that at the time German was killed, he went to the gym and went for a walk. However, there was proof that Telles’ wife had texted him, asking, “Where are you?” about the same time he was killed. According to the prosecution, Telles was unable to be traced because he left his phone at home.
After three days and almost twelve hours of deliberation, the jury convicted Telles. Before determining that Telles would be eligible for parole, the tribunal heard testimony from German’s brother and two sisters regarding his punishment, as well as heartfelt requests for leniency from Telles’ mother, wife, and ex-wife.
Because German was older than 60, Judge Michelle Leavitt of the Clark County District Court was authorized to increase Telles’ sentence by up to eight years for both lying in wait prior to the attack and employing a lethal weapon in a willful, deliberate, premeditated death.
Steve Wolfson, the district attorney, expressed his “hopeful and confident” belief that the judge would sentence Telles to a life sentence in prison.
“This defendant has shown absolutely no remorse, no acceptance of responsibility,” said the elected regional prosecutor. “And in fact, his behavior is such that I believe he is an extreme danger to the community if he is ever released.”
Telles’ conviction has sent “an important message that the killing of journalists will not be tolerated,” said Katherine Jacobsen, the U.S., Canada, and Caribbean program coordinator at the committee.
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