LAS VEGAS (Court TV)—About two hours into deliberations in Robert Telles‘ murder trial, jurors sent a note asking, ‘How do we zoom in on the videos?’ The question struck at the heart of the prosecution’s case.
Robert Telles appears in court Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (Court TV)
Prosecutors believe Telles, a former Clark County public administrator, murdered veteran journalist Jeff German because he was upset over articles German wrote for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which exposed an alleged affair with Telles and a female staffer, as well as an alleged hostile work environment.
Throughout the eight days of trial, jurors saw multiple surveillance videos of a red Denali allegedly being driven by the defendant in and out of the victim’s neighborhood, according to prosecutors.
During the defense’s closing arguments of Telles’ trial, Defense Attorney Robert Draskovich played one of the videos of a red Denali rolling through the victim’s neighborhood, only this time zooming in for a closeup.
“Look at that profile, looks like hair,” he said, pointing to a mop-like outline on top of the driver’s head, unlike his client, who is bald. “Look at the face, eyes, I submit those look like glasses,” Telles’ attorney said.
Prosecutor Chris Hamner explained it in his rebuttal, suggesting that it could have been a different Denali. It came from the direction of where a sewer project had been ongoing in Jeff German’s neighborhood. It was the first time the State suggested that another Denali had been filmed in the victim’s neighborhood.
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“Could it be just another worker,” he said in response to the video that purportedly showed a driver with hair.
The videos were a significant feature of the State’s case. Prosecutors say surveillance footage gathered from the area shows the suspect walking into Jeff German’s property, confronting German, walking away and strolling through the neighborhood before getting back into his vehicle and driving away.
Telles conceded the person captured in a straw hat, orange vest, and wearing gray sneakers was the killer.
Jurors appear keen to review the video, asking for a second laptop to examine the State’s digital evidence as they enter their second day of deliberations.
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They asked to review side by side video of the suspect walking and German’s story ‘with the videos.’ Prosecutors argue German’s articles drove Telles to murder the investigative reporter after a public records request he made suggested he was going to expose the affair Telles was having with a colleague.
The State is relying on Telles’ DNA under the fingernails of the victim to persuade this jury to ultimately convict – but questions posed by this jury suggest it’s no guarantee of a slam dunk.
