The Nevada murder trial is underway for former Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles, who’s accused of killing veteran journalist Jeff German in 2022.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, investigators found German stabbed to death outside his Las Vegas home on September 3, 2022, and focused on Telles, who was reportedly furious about articles German had written exposing issues in Telles’ office.
A neighbor discovered German’s body at the side of his house with seven knife wounds to his neck and torso, police said. The attack was captured on a security camera across the street, showing the killer crouching beside German’s gate before ambushing him as he opened his garage door.
During opening statements Wednesday, Chief Deputy District Attorney Pam Weckerly said neighbors grew concerned when German stopped responding to messages. He was found dead on Sept. 9, 2022, with his phone in his pocket, and his body already decomposing.
Weckerly recounted German’s investigative reporting on Telles and the issues within his office, noting that Telles lost his primary election and publicly disputed the journalist’s articles.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal published several of German’s stories, which reportedly exposed a toxic work culture in Telles’s office. The work culture included an alleged inappropriate relationship with one of his subordinates.
German also filed public records requests for more documentation for his investigation.
The jury was then shown a grainy video of the attack as Weckerly described the perpetrator as “lying in wait” for German before walking away to a maroon SUV.
Police connected Telles to a maroon SUV and mapped a route between his residence and German’s. Video evidence showed someone wearing a hat and orange clothing entering German’s neighborhood and approaching his house, followed by footage of the attack.
A search of Telles’ home uncovered a shoe and a bag containing shoe fragments, along with a hat resembling the one in the surveillance video. DNA found under German’s fingernails matched Telles’, according to Weckerly.
Defense lawyer Robert Draskovich began the defense’s opening statement by portraying Telles as a devoted family man who provided pro bono legal services for three years before his election to public office.
Draskovi outlined the changes Telles implemented office, noting that the adjustments were poorly received by long-standing employees. He also pointed out that Telles reduced overtime, including for one employee who had earned over $140K in overtime pay, which ultimately “upset the apple cart,” NewsNation reports.
He added that a guard at the public administrator’s office resisted Telles’ changes and contacted Jeff German to investigate Telles.
Draskovich said that a longtime employee decided to run against Telles for public administrator and that the same employee received a donation from Compass Realty. Draskovich claimed that after this, the investigation into alleged corruption appeared to stop.
The trial continues. Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: Left, Jeff German/Wikicommons and Robert Telles/Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department]
