The Las Vegas public official accused of murdering a journalist was arrested two years earlier for allegedly grabbing his wife’s neck and hitting her, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles is presently in the Clark County Detention Center facing a murder charge in connection with the September 3 death of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German.
German had exposed an extra-marital affair Telles was having with a woman who worked for him and had also shed light on management problems in the Democrat’s office.
Among the evidence linking Telles to Gorman’s fatal stabbing is DNA material fund under German’s fingernails that is said to match Telles’ DNA, FOX 5 reports.
But more than two years before the murder, police were called after Telles’ wife reported that he was drunk and had attacked her, according to the Review-Journal.
Body camera footage obtained by the newspaper appears to show Telles drunk and slurring his words, accusing officers of targeting him because of his role in government.
“You guys just wanna take me down because I’m a public official,” Telles claims as he’s being arrested, according to the footage.
The arrest was prompted after Telles’ wife, Mae Ismael, alleged that he grabbed her neck, hit her arm and screamed “kill me,” the newspaper reports. The two had reportedly spent the evening at the Bellagio casino.
“Can anyone tell me who I hit?” Telles asked officers during the arrest, “Because I didn’t hit anybody.”
Telles, who has a law degree, also exploded in expletive-filled rants in the video in which he denied the assault allegations but also expressed confidence about his ability to hold liquor.
“Honestly, I’ve been way f***ing drunker than this,” he yells in the footage, adding: “Ask the f**king Bellagio if I did that because that’s f**king bullshit. I would never ever f**king do that because I’m not stupid. I am a public official who would never be so f**king stupid to f**king do that. I have many friends and we had a good time. I don’t know why she f**king did this.”
Ismael reportedly told the 911 dispatcher that her husband was “going crazy” and that he grabbed her in a “bear hug” and did not let go until their children intervened, KTNV-TV reports.
Police booked Telles into jail that night on charges of domestic battery and resisting arrest. He was able to get the domestic violence charge dismissed and received a suspended jail sentence on the resisting arrest charge, according to the television station.
In a jailhouse interview with the newspaper, Telles refused to talk about the murder allegations but claimed that had been sober since the arrest two years ago and that he and his wife had improved their relationship.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, help is available from the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Call 1-800-799-7233 or visit www.thehotline.org.
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[Feature Photo: Left, Jeff German/Wikicommons and Robert Telles/Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department]
