47 years old Robert Telles from 2022 was being held without bail in the stabbing of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German.
During the trial, prosecutors presented jurors with DNA evidence found under Mr. German’s fingernails that they said belonged to Mr. Telles, who has pleaded not guilty.
On Wednesday, after two days of deliberations, 12 jurors reached a guilty verdict. Hours later, the same jury sentenced Telles to life in prison.
R. Telles, who in 2018 was elected Clark County public administrator sat blank-faced in court Wednesday as the judge impaneled the jury.
He then bowed his head as the guilty verdict was read.
“The jury is unanimous that the murder was deliberate, deliberate and premeditated,” Juror No. 2.
Telles was sentenced to life in prison at a separate hearing later on Wednesday. He will be eligible for parole after serving 20 years in prison.
The seven women and five men who made up the jury deliberated for about 12 hours starting Monday before the panel reached its conclusion. The trial lasted two weeks.
Dozens of witnesses testified in court, including detectives, forensic medicine experts, people who knew the former politician and R. Telles himself.
He testified that he was framed. “It was like a nightmare,” he said about a week after the trial. – I want to say unequivocally – I am innocent. I did not kill Mr. German.”
in 2022 in September, Mr. German, 69, was found after being stabbed seven times in the neck and torso outside his home in Nevada.
Prosecutors accused Mr. Telles of killing Mr. German because of unfavorable articles the journalist had written about his conduct as an elected official. One alleged that Mr. Telles had an “inappropriate” relationship with a member of his staff, and several others alleged hostile behavior at his Las Vegas office.
Telles, a Democrat, lost the 2022 primary for a second term as public administrator. after Mr. German’s articles were published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal before the election.
CCTV footage recovered by police and shown to jurors shows an assailant wearing a large straw hat and sneakers attacking Mr. German outside the journalist’s home.
Officers later found the remains of similar items at Telles’ home, but they had been cut up.
Prosecutors said it was Mr. Telles who appeared on the security video, claiming he hid in the bushes outside Mr. German’s home and then tried to get rid of the evidence.
Mr. Telles’ defense attorneys argued that the shredded evidence was planted in the former politician’s home to incriminate their client. They argued that Mr German’s articles were a “motive for murder”.
But prosecutors shared DNA evidence, a timeline and a video of Telles’ SUV driving through the streets near Mr. German’s home shortly before he was killed. The driver of the car is wearing clothing similar to the one seen in the security video.
Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom Wednesday, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson was pleased with the jury’s decision. “The jury hit the top ten this time,” he said. “They hit the 10, making the right decision.”
A veteran journalist, Mr. German has covered the city and corruption for more than four decades. On the day of his death, he had another article to publish about R. Telles.
Glenn Cook, executive editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, issued a statement saying “the jury served justice” for German. “Jeff (German) was killed for doing a job he was very proud of: his reporting held an elected official accountable for bad behavior and gave voters a chance to choose someone else.”
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2024-08-29 16:20:26