Former Nevada Politician Convicted of Murdering Investigative Journalist Jeff German

Former Nevada politician Robert Telles was convicted of murdering the Las Vegas journalist, Jeff German, who had published several articles that accused Telles of workplace harassment and misconduct, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

Telles was convicted of first-degree murder, with the jury finding that the killing of German was “willful, deliberate and premeditated.” Telles, who once served as the Clark County Public Administrator, faces up to life in prison, with the penalty phase of the trial set to begin today, Aug. 28. A lawyer for Telles did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment. 

Prosecutors accused Telles of “lying in wait” in the bushes outside German’s home, then stabbing him to death in September 2022. The killing, prosecutors said, was in retaliation for articles German had written for the Review-Journal, which contained accusations that Telles had created a toxic work environment and had an “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer (Telles denied these claims). Not long after German’s articles were published, Telles lost his bid for reelection. 

During the two-week trial, the prosecution bolstered this shocking retribution narrative with a variety of evidence. They said DNA found under German’s fingernails matched that of Telles’; they said they recovered a wide-brimmed straw hat, sneakers, and gray bag at Telles’ home that matched items seen on the assailant in the surveillance footage; and they said the surveillance footage appeared to show Telles’ car driving around German’s neighborhood the morning German was killed before heading back to Telles’ neighborhood.

In response, Telles and his lawyer, Robert Draskovich, tried to claim the former public administrator was framed. Telles even testified on his own behalf, suggesting he was framed by officials and a real estate company he was supposedly investigating during his time as public administrator (the company has denied this accusation). 

Following the verdict, Review-Journal Executive Editor Glenn Cook said, “Today a Clark County jury delivered a measure of justice for Jeff German, and we hope it brings some solace to his family, friends, and colleagues. Jeff was killed for doing the kind of work in which he took great pride: His reporting held an elected official accountable for bad behavior and empowered voters to choose someone else for the job. Robert Telles could have joined the long line of publicly shamed Nevada politicians who’ve gone on with their lives, out of the spotlight or back in it. Instead, he carried out a premeditated revenge killing with terrifying savagery.”

German was widely revered for his decades of dogged reporting for both the Review-Journal and the other major local paper, the Las Vegas Sun. “He was the most tenacious reporter I had ever dealt with and would not take a simple platitude for an answer,” former Gaming Control Board Chairman Mike Rumbolz told Rolling Stone in 2022. “He also wouldn’t take no for an answer, or no comment. He found more ways of asking the same question from different aspects to try to get to what he was interested in than any reporter I’ve ever dealt with. He was amazing that way.”