A Nevada jury found a former politician guilty of the murder of an investigative journalist who wrote articles critical of his conduct in elected office in 2022. The jury sentenced him on Wednesday to life in prison with eligibility for parole after 20 years.
Robert Telles, 47, hung his head and shook it slightly from side to side as the guilty verdict was read earlier on Wednesday in Clark County District Court.
Jurors deliberated for three days before agreeing unanimously that Telles had intentionally ambushed Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German in the side yard of German’s home and stabbed him to death.
After the verdict, Telles’ Defense Attorney told reporters outside court that his client plans to appeal.
German was an investigative reporter who spent decades reporting on organized crime and government corruption. He was found stabbed to death outside his home in the Bronze Circle neighborhood of Las Vegas on Sept. 3, 2022.
Four days later, Telles was arrested and charged with murder. He’s been in jail without bail ever since.
German had written several stories about Telles’ conduct heading an obscure county office that handles unclaimed estates. The reports, which appeared in May and June 2022, described Telles as engaging in favoritism and bullying and further alleged that he had a romantic relationship with a female staffer—which Telles admitted for the first time in court last week was true.
After the first article was published, four of Telles’ staffers sued him for intimidation, retaliation, and creating a hostile work environment, further damaging his reputation.
Consequently, Telles lost his primary for his re-election term despite urging voters not to believe “the false claims” against him on his campaign site and Twitter.
During the trial, Telles claimed he was the victim of a broad conspiracy—involving even Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson—that framed him for German’s killing in retaliation for Telles’ effort to root out corruption in his office.
“I am not the kind of person who would stab someone. I didn’t kill Mr. German,” he told the jury last week.
But prosecutors presented evidence that DNA found underneath German’s fingernails matched Telles.
Though the murder weapon was never retrieved, a suspect wearing a bright orange vest and a distinctive large straw hat was captured on camera walking toward German’s home. Police later found cut-up pieces of a straw hat and a shoe at Telles’ house, similar to those worn by the suspect on camera.
“The jury … hit a home run by getting the right verdict,” Wolfson said outside the courtroom after the trial.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.