A former Democrat politician in Nevada has been found guilty of murdering a Las Vegas investigative journalist who dared to report negative stories about him.
Robert Telles, a 47-year-old former Clark County public administrator, was convicted earlier this week of the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 20 years.
Update Aug. 28, 2024: Robert Telles, a Democrat official in Nevada who lost a primary in 2022, has been convicted of killing reporter Jeff German.
Telles was a gun control advocate and stabbed the journalist to death. At the time, leftists on social media falsely speculated that… https://t.co/naZYp8b7yt pic.twitter.com/cC7WVpp4wL
— Andy Ngo 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) August 28, 2024
German’s body was discovered outside of his home on September 2, 2022, after he was fatally stabbed by Telles. According to prosecutors, Telles hid outside of the journalist’s home wearing a disguise that included a large sunhat, then fatally stabbed him.
The motivation behind the murder was allegedly German’s exposés on Telles’ political office, with prosecutors arguing that Telles was especially concerned over another article that the journalist planned to publish. German’s 40-year career in journalism in Las Vegas largely focused on corruption and crime related to attorneys, judges, law enforcement, mob figures, politicians and more.
A Las Vegas jury has found a former politician guilty of murdering an investigative journalist who wrote a series of articles that some say ultimately led to him losing his reelection.
Let’s bring you up to speed: Jeff German, an investigative journalist for the Las Vegas… pic.twitter.com/G9AviduRm8
— Real News No Bullshit (@NewsNotBs) August 28, 2024
According to CNN, the jury found that German’s murder was “willful, deliberate and premeditated” and was carried out by “lying in wait” for the victim.
The jury heard from roughly two dozen witnesses called by the prosecution during the two-week trial, and was shown physical evidence and video evidence that tied the Democrat politician to the disguise worn by the murderer — as officers discovered a straw hat and grey Nike sneakers cut up and hidden inside Telles’ home upon executing a search warrant. Telles was also tied to the crime by a maroon vehicle seen at the scene of the crime, which was later seen outside of the politician’s home. Law enforcement also discovered Telles’ DNA under German’s fingernails.
During closing arguments, Chief Deputy District Attorney Pamela Weckerly explained Telles’ motivations for murdering the journalist, stating: “He was clearly incredibly upset that those articles were written and that it resulted in him losing that primary.”
Telles lost his reelection in the June 2023 primary election after German reported on the turmoil inside his office in May, with allegations including “emotional stress, bullying and favoritism leading to secret videotaping of the boss and a co-worker outside the office.”
Prosecutor Christopher Hamner further detailed the motive during rebuttal, stating: “He murdered him because Jeff’s writing destroyed his career, it destroyed his reputation, it threatened probably his marriage and exposed things that even he admitted he did not want the public to know. He did it because Jeff wasn’t done writing.”
Telles and his defense team have maintained that the Democrat politician was framed for the murder because he was trying to institute changes in his political office that upset the so-called “Old Guard.”
Telles even went so far as to testify in his own defense, where he claimed that a real estate company had hired a hitman for the murder and to frame him.
“I want to say, unequivocally, I am innocent. I didn’t kill Mr. German,” the politician claimed, later telling the courtroom: “I did not cut up a shoe and hide it under my couch. I did not cut up a hat and put it in an open door of my toolbox. I did not kill Mr. German.”
During his testimony, Telles also claimed to have been home watching TV on the day of the murder, then went for a walk and went to the gym. Showing a phone log of his activities that day, Telles claimed there was nothing “suspicious” — but cross-examination poked holes in that story, with Hamner showing inconsistencies between the phone records and texts from his wife’s Apple Watch. One of those messages from his wife stated, “Where are you?” — meaning that he was likely not home.
German’s colleagues in the Review-Journal newsroom celebrated the verdict, with Executive Editor Glenn Cook hugging his crying staff members after they gathered to watch the trial live in the newsroom.
“Today a Clark County jury delivered a measure of justice for Jeff German, and we hope it brings some solace to his family, friends and colleagues,” Cook wrote in a statement. “Jeff 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.
“Robert Telles could have joined the long line of publicly shamed Nevada politicians who’ve gone on with their lives, out of the spotlight or back in it. Instead, he carried out a premeditated revenge killing with terrifying savagery,” the statement continued.
