County official arrested in stabbing death of Las Vegas investigative journalist

County official Robert Telles was sentenced to 28 years to life in prison on Oct. 16, 2024, for the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German. The sentence was handed down by a Nevada judge more than two years after German was found fatally stabbed outside of his home.

In August, a jury found Telles guilty of first-degree murder for German’s death in September 2022. The judge affirmed the jury’s recommended sentence of life with the possibility of parole after 20 years, with an additional eight to 20 years for the use of a deadly weapon and the murder of a victim aged 60 or older. Telles was also ordered to pay more than $23,000 in restitution to German’s family.

German had published a series of investigations into Telles beginning in May 2022 that revealed a hostile work environment characterized by bullying, retaliation and an “inappropriate relationship” between Telles and a staffer during his oversight of the public administrator’s office.

Shortly before the murder, German had filed public records requests for emails and text messages between Telles and three other county officials.

Telles pleaded not guilty during an October 2022 arraignment and was held in custody until his trial, which was delayed several times, in part due to attempts by the Review-Journal to protect German’s electronic devices from unauthorized search.

During the sentencing hearing, Telles maintained his innocence, and his attorneys stated that he intends to appeal his conviction.

Prosecutors argued that the trial proved that Telles had used taxpayer-issued resources to find personal information about German and had then scoped out the journalist’s neighborhood and laid in wait before attacking him.

“His reason for this, we learned, is he didn’t like what Mr. German had written about him. He felt that Mr. German had cost him an elected position,” attorneys for the state said. “This type of violence, this sort of political violence because of being upset about an article that has been written about you is unacceptable and dangerous to our community as a whole.”

Telles was credited just over two years for the time he has spent in prison since his arrest and will be eligible for parole in 2050.

County official Robert Telles was found guilty on Aug. 28, 2024, of the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German. The jury verdict came almost two years after German was found fatally stabbed outside of his home.

The trial lasted two weeks, with eight days of testimony and jury deliberations for 12 hours over three days, the Review-Journal reported. Jurors recommended a life sentence with possible parole in 20 years. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 16.

German had published a series of investigations into Telles beginning in May 2022 that revealed a hostile work environment characterized by bullying, retaliation and an “inappropriate relationship” between Telles and a staffer during his oversight of the public administrator’s office.

Shortly before the murder, German had filed public records requests for emails and text messages between Telles and three other county officials.

According to an article by German before his death, Telles posted a letter on his campaign website ahead of the Democratic primary attacking the Review-Journal and its reporting. On the same day that article was published, Telles singled out German in a series of tweets, demeaning the investigative reporter and his articles.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department arrested Telles several days after the Sept. 2, 2022, murder. During a search of Telles’ home and vehicles, investigators found a pair of shoes and a straw hat matching those worn by the suspect — both roughly cut up in an apparent attempt to destroy them. Officers also found Telles’ DNA under German’s fingernails.

Telles pleaded not guilty during an October 2022 arraignment and was held in custody until his trial, which was delayed several times in part due to attempts by the Review-Journal to protect German’s electronic devices from unauthorized search.

In a landmark October 2023 ruling, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that the state’s shield law protects journalists from forced disclosure of their sources posthumously. The state judge presiding over Telles’ trial authorized a “search team” of newspaper staff and attorneys to review German’s devices starting in January 2024.

Telles himself testified at the trial over the course of three days, claiming that he had been framed for the murder by a real estate company he was investigating. A Las Vegas police detective testified that the Clark County District Attorney’s Office had found insufficient evidence of wrongdoing by the company.

Review-Journal Executive Editor Glenn Cook told an emotional staff at the paper, “Today a Clark County jury delivered a measure of justice for Jeff German,” adding, “Today also brought a measure of justice for slain journalists all over the world.”

Cook said that German was killed “for doing the kind of work in which he took great pride: His reporting held an elected official accountable for bad behavior and empowered voters to choose someone else for the job.

“Jeff was a good man who left behind a family who loved him and friends who cherished him. His murder remains an outrage. He is missed.”

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include the jury’s sentencing recommendation.

After multiple delays in the murder trial of slain Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German, a new trial date has been set for Aug. 12, 2024, according to the outlet.

Within days of the September 2022 stabbing death of German, Nevada law enforcement arrested Robert Telles, a former Clark County public administrator, under suspicion of murder. Telles, who was the subject of previous and ongoing reporting by German, has been in custody since his arrest, pleading not guilty during an October 2022 arraignment.

With an original trial date set for spring 2023, delays have centered around the Review-Journal’s attempts to protect German’s electronic devices from unauthorized search. Six devices — a cellphone, multiple computers and a hard drive — were seized in 2022 as part of the murder investigation, a routine measure.

The Review-Journal argued — all the way to the state’s Supreme Court — that those devices were equally protected by Nevada’s shield law in German’s death as they were during his life. In a landmark October 2023 ruling, the Supreme Court agreed that the law, designed to protect journalists from forced disclosure of their sources, applied posthumously as well.

In January 2024, Nevada District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt, who is presiding over the trial, authorized a “search team” composed of newspaper staff and attorneys to begin to review German’s devices. Telles, who had been acting as his own attorney for more than a year, also hired a new defense attorney.

In February, the search team revealed that a 2022 death threat had been found in German’s saved phone messages. And in March, the trial was postponed as prosecutors asked for more time to review evidence from the devices and evidence around a bribery investigation involving Telles. Telles also faces a federal lawsuit alleging employment discrimination.

The Review-Journal reported that in a court hearing on July 25, attorneys asked for a delay, and Leavitt rescheduled the trial for Aug. 12. Attorney Ashley Kissinger, who represents the outlet, told the judge that the search of the last device to be reviewed, German’s laptop, had been completed.

The trial for Robert Telles, the former public official charged in the stabbing death of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German, was postponed during a status hearing on Feb. 1, 2023.

Prosecutors argued that the ongoing legal fight over law enforcement’s ability to search equipment seized from German’s home has stalled their investigation and that they would not be prepared to go to trial in April, the Review-Journal reported. District Judge Michelle Leavitt rescheduled the trial for Nov. 6.

During a hearing on Nov. 2, 2022, a Clark County judge set a spring 2023 trial date for Robert Telles, the former public official charged in the stabbing death of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German.

Telles’ next status hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 1 ahead of his trial beginning on April 17, according to the Review-Journal. He has been denied bail and held at the Clark County Detention Center since his arrest.

Robert Telles, the former public official charged in the stabbing death of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment hearing on Oct. 26, 2022.

In footage of the hearing published by the Review-Journal, Telles also waived his right to a jury trial within 60 days. Prosecutors informed the court that they will not pursue the death penalty in the case against Telles.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Nov. 2.

A grand jury approved the murder indictment of a former public official on Oct. 19, 2022, in connection with the stabbing death of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German.

Former Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles was arrested on Sept. 7 and charged with open murder, the general allegation for any homicide. Telles has now been formally charged with premeditated murder with the use of a deadly weapon against a victim over the age of 60, according to the indictment.

The superseding first-degree murder indictment means that Telles may now face the death penalty and will not have a preliminary evidentiary hearing, The Associated Press reported.

Telles has been held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail since his arrest. Telles is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 26, according to online Clark County Jail records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.

A judge ordered that the public official accused of murdering Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German continue to be held without bail on Oct. 18, 2022.

Former Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles was arrested on Sept. 7 and charged with open murder, the general allegation for any homicide. Telles’ public defender filed a motion requesting that a judge release him under his own recognisance or set his bail at $100,000 on Oct. 10, according to the Review-Journal.

During the hearing on Oct. 18, Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Hamner argued that under state law and the Nevada Constitution, defendants can be denied bail if there is clear, overwhelming evidence that they have committed a capital offense such as murder, the Review-Journal reported.

Telles has been held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail since his arrest. A preliminary hearing — during which a judge determines whether there is enough evidence to proceed with a trial — is scheduled for Oct. 26.

In denying bail to Telles, Justice of the Peace Karen Bennett-Haron said she may reconsider her decision after listening to arguments at the preliminary hearing.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said during a press conference on Sept. 8, 2022, that its investigation uncovered multiple pieces of evidence tying a public official to the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German.

On Sept. 6, LVMPD released two images during a news conference, including one of a suspect next to a vehicle. Later that evening, according to the Review-Journal, reporters for the outlet observed Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles in his driveway next to a vehicle matching the description.

During the press briefing, Homicide Section Captain Dori Koren said that while executing a search warrant of Telles’ home, vehicles and person the following day, investigators recovered a pair of shoes and straw hat matching those worn by the suspect. Both items had been roughly cut up, Koren said, in an apparent attempt to destroy them.

Officers also recovered DNA from the crime scene that matched samples taken from Telles, and blood on the pair of shoes was matched to German.

Koren confirmed during the press conference that detectives identified Telles as a person of interest early into the investigation, noting that the county official was upset with German’s past reporting and that there was more reporting pending. The Review-Journal reported that German had recently filed public records requests for emails and text messages between Telles and three other county officials.

According to a June 18 article by German, Telles posted a letter on his campaign website ahead of the Democratic primary attacking the Review-Journal and its reporting. On the same day that article was published, Telles also singled out German in a series of tweets, demeaning the investigative reporter and his articles.

8 News Now investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy reported that at a hearing on Sept. 8, Justice of the Peace Elana Lee Graham ordered Telles be held at Clark County Detention Center without bail on the charge of open murder, a general allegation for any homicide. His next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 13, according to Murphy.

“This a terrible and jarring homicide, one that has deeply impacted Las Vegas,” LVMPD Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said during the press briefing. “Every murder is tragic, but the killing of a journalist is particularly troublesome.”

Editor’s Note: This article was updated with information from a Sept. 8 hearing.