Prosecutor: Slain Las Vegas journalist had Democratic county administrator's DNA under fingernails

A slain Las Vegas journalist had DNA under his fingernails that matched that of a local county administrator arrested for his murder, a prosecutor told a judge this week, further evidence linking the administrator to the murder of the reporter in what increasingly appears to be a revenge-driven homicide. 

Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Scow told Justice of the Peace Elana Lee Graham on Thursday that Jeff German, previously a reporter with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, had genetic material matched to that of Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles under his nails when German was found killed outside his Las Vegas home last week. 

"The DNA is alleged to have been recovered from the hand of the victim, presumably during the time in which he was fighting for his life," Graham said during the hearing on Thursday. She also pointed out that police investigations indicated several defensive wounds on his body, suggesting he was attempting to defend himself from the attack when he died. 

Telles's murder charge has raised speculation that the administrator may have committed the crime as revenge for a series of reports authored by German that commentators have suggested may have damaged the county official's political career. 

German's investigations suggested that Telles had had an inappropriate relationship with a staffer and may have been running a hostile work environment as well. Telles lost his re-election primary bid in June, a month after German's investigation was published.

Telles was denied bail at the Thursday hearing and is due back in court on Tuesday.