LAS VEGAS (Court TV) — Jury selection begins Monday in the case against a Nevada politician accused of killing an investigative reporter.
Robert Telles attends an arraignment hearing at the Regional Justice Center in downtown Las Vegas, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022. Telles is charged with murder in the stabbing death of Las Vegas investigative reporter Jeff German. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
It’s a story that sounds straight out of film noir, but truth is stranger than fiction here: When journalist Jeff German was found stabbed to death outside his Las Vegas home on Sept. 3, 2022, investigators determined he’d been dead for 24 hours. Detectives quickly zeroed in on Clark County public administrator Robert Telles, who had been furious about articles German had written about problems in the public office Telles oversaw.
When German was found by a neighbor at the side of his house, police said he had seven knife wounds to his neck and torso. The attack had been caught on camera from across the street. The killer could be seen crouching down beside German’s gate. When German opened his garage door, he was ambushed.
Las Vegas police shared these photos of a person suspected of the murder of local investigative journalist Jeff German. (LVMP via KTNV)
While the attacker had concealed their identity, police shared photos showing a suspect wearing a straw sun hat and bright orange safety jacket.
Although police initially thought the attacker could have been casing the area to commit other crimes, Telles’ name quickly sprung up as a primary suspect, according to Scripps News Las Vegas. German’s pieces in the Las Vegas Review-Journal detailed a toxic workplace environment at the Clark County Public Administrator’s Office.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department began its investigation straightaway. Five days after the murder, authorities announced in a press conference that Telles’ DNA was found under German’s fingernails.
TOXIC WORKPLACE
German, 69, had been reporting on Telles’ alleged misconduct for five months prior to his death. According to Scripps News Las Vegas, the columnist was approached in March 2022 by a woman from Telles’ office who told him about the desperate situation she and her coworkers were in.
They recounted a reign of terror that began as soon as Telles took office in Jan. 2019. Rita Reid, a 12-year veteran of the office and Telles’ second in command, spoke to “48 Hours.” Reid recalled her new boss telling her that she was no longer a supervisor because everyone was to report directly to him. She claimed Telles ordered the women not to speak to one another at the office. The threat of being fired loomed constantly.
The women also suspected Telles, a married father of three, was having an inappropriate relationship with their coworker, Roberta Lee-Kennett. They believed Lee-Kennett was using her position to benefit her career.
Unsure of how to prove Telles and Lee-Kennett were having an affair, they began following the pair. In his reporting for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, German stated that Telles and Lee-Kennett would regularly park next to one another at a mall parking garage before venturing to the backseat of Lee-Kennett’s car. The women documented those encounters, providing German with photos and videos.
When German reached out directly to Lee-Kennett for a comment, she denied the affair, which German noted in his May 2022 article entitled, “County office in turmoil with secret video and claims of bullying, hostility.” A series of articles about Telles followed. Telles lost the next election and was succeeded by Reid.
WHO IS JEFF GERMAN?
Jeff German, investigative reporter, poses for a portrait at the Las Vegas Review-Journal photos studio, in Las Vegas, on Jan. 19, 2017. German was stabbed to death outside his home and police are looking for a suspect, authorities said. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officers found journalist German dead with stab wounds around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, after authorities received a 911 call, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal. (Elizabeth Brumley/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
At the time of his death, German was in the middle of writing another exposé about Telles. He never finished it. Ironically, his dedication to rooting out corruption may have cost him his life.
According to a tribute by German’s colleagues at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, from 1978 until his death, German covered criminal trials, organized crime, local politics and more. His stories detailed things like the misuse of funds and the goings-on at places like casinos and mafia hangouts, which often led to policy changes and other reforms. Colleagues described German as “fearless” and credited his tenacity with making Las Vegas a better, safer city.
The investigation into the case was put on hold for months after police approached the Nevada Supreme Court about accessing German’s electronic devices, including cell phones, laptops and hard drives. Representatives for the Las Vegas Review-Journal argued that the First Amendment protected German’s files, which contained sources and other confidential details. The state Supreme Court ultimately ruled that Nevada’s shield law still applied to German, even in death. The devices were given to the newspaper for review.
PIECING IT TOGETHER
Outgoing Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles washes his car outside his home on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, in Las Vegas. Authorities served search warrants at Telles home on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, in connection with the fatal stabbing of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German. (Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
After releasing the pictures of the suspect in the straw hat and orange jacket, police released a photo of the suspect’s car, a maroon Yukon Denali. A vehicle matching that exact make, model and color was registered in Telles’ wife’s name.
Investigators found cut-up pieces of a straw hat resembling the suspect’s sun hat in Telles’ garage. A bloody, cut-up Nike sneaker collected from Telles’ home also looked like the footwear the suspect had on as well. Other evidence against Telles includes an alleged death threat the defendant made on German’s voicemail.
According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s arrest report, Telles approached German and stabbed him in the neck at approximately 11:20 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2022.
Telles was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on Sept. 8, 2022. His arrest was not without its antics—Telles refused to leave his home and threatened self-harm. The SWAT team got involved and Telles was eventually brought out on a stretcher.
THE DEFENSE
Court TV obtained a copy of the transcript from the grand jury hearing where, six weeks after his arrest, Telles was indicted on one count of murder with a deadly weapon of a person older than 60. Court TV also has a copy of the indictment. Telles pled not guilty.
Telles, who was an attorney before he took public office, represented himself at pretrial hearings but has since hired defense attorney Robert Draskovich. The case has experienced multiple delays on top of the shield law matter, including Telles’ unsuccessful attempts to have Judge Michelle Leavitt removed from the case.
At a pretrial hearing on Wednesday, Draskovich told Judge Leavitt that his client is eager to proceed with the trial on Monday. After the hearing, Draskovich told Scripps News Las Vegas that Telles has “vehemently maintained his innocence.”
Telles, now 47, has said he wants to tell a jury his side. In 2023, he told Scripps News Las Vegas he was framed by police, the investigation was biased from the start, and his civil rights were violated. Telles also stated that evidence collected at his home was planted by police.
Telles has been held without bail since his arrest. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
