Former Las Vegas politician found guilty in murder of journalist, sentenced to life in prison

A Nevada jury on Wednesday found a former Las Vegas politician guilty of the murder of a journalist who criticized the politician's conduct, and sentenced him to life in prison.

Robert Telles, a former Clark County public administrator per CNN, has been held without bail since he was arrested for the 2022 murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German, who was found stabbed to death over that Labor Day weekend.

Telles' conviction comes after the jury deliberated for 12 hours, following eight days of testimony, according to the Associated Press. The trial began on Aug. 12.

“The jury hit the ball out of the park this time,” Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said. “They hit a home run by getting the right verdict.”

The former politician was sentenced to life in prison with a chance of parole after 20 years on Wednesday evening, CNN reported. Prosecutors were not seeking the death penalty, but were seeking a maximum of life in prison without a chance of parole. 

Telles has denied killing German, and claimed he was being framed for the murder as retaliation for rooting out corruption in his office. However, Telles' DNA was found under German's fingernails. But none of German's DNA or blood has been found on Telles, or in his vehicle or home.

“I am not the kind of person who would stab someone. I didn’t kill Mr. German,” Telles testified. “And that’s my testimony.”

Prosecutors claimed the motive for the murder is Telles's belief that German damaged his career and reputation, and threatened his marriage.

Telles lost a primary for a second term after several of German's stories were published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal in May and June 2022. The stories accused Telles of having a romantic relationship with an employee, and claimed there was bullying at Telles's office.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.