A Democratic politician who was grinning while in court was accused of killing a Las Vegas journalist who revealed his affair.
Robert Telles, 45, the public administrator for Clark County, is charged with murdering Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German outside his house.
After writing many pieces revealing married Telles’ adultery and improper use of public power, German, 69, was fatally stabbed on September 3.
Telles smirked when he was informed that his next appearance would be on September 20th when he went before a judge today.
During the brief session, he continued to be in handcuffs and was dressed in a naval uniform provided by the jail.
The official remained silent during the hearing and had bandages covering his arms, which were likely caused by self-inflicted wounds sustained after his detention.
Telles is being detained in custody without bond on one count of murder inflicted with a dangerous weapon.
It follows the announcement by municipal authorities that Telles would stay in his position and receive his $130,000 salary until a replacement is chosen, despite the murder allegation.
German covered the turbulence in Telles’ office and how he lost his quest for reelection in June for months.
After German posted a video of him getting out of a car with his girlfriend, he also admitted that Telles was having an affair with a coworker.
The 45-year-old staff member Roberta Lee-Kennett can be seen lifting her skirt down as she exits the vehicle beside the official.
All of German’s accusations against Telles, including the affair and that he managed an oppressive workplace, have been refuted by Telles.
Hours before his arrest, Las Vegas police searched his residence after issuing a press release stating they were looking for a person sporting a huge sunhat and high-visibility jacket.
When confronted by reporters after being freed by police, he refused to deny that he had killed the journalist.
By six o’clock that evening, police had returned to Telles’s house in tactical gear and were encircling it with Telles still inside.
He was taken out of the house on a stretcher and placed into an ambulance around 30 minutes later.
Additionally, according to police sources, German was apprehended because the DNA beneath his fingernails matched a sample retrieved from Telles.
In a previous article, DailyMail.com reported that Telles had been complaining about German for months, including in a furious string of social media posts in which he accused German of rummaging through his garbage and creating “false smear articles” about him.
After remembering the tweets Telles to German had made, his coworkers at the review-Journal assisted find the alleged murderer by staking out the suspect’s house.
They found a red GMC Yukon Denali parked in his driveway that matched the police description.
The five-person crew at the newspaper immediately acted “because that’s what Jeff would have wanted us to do,” using German skills they had picked up on the job.
Later, after obtaining a search warrant, police entered the house; by Wednesday noon, his automobile had been towed.
At the scene of the investigative journalist’s deadly stabbing, the public official’s DNA was discovered.
In a series of public tweets, Telles attacked German, accusing him of crafting “lying smear article #4 by Jeff German, #onetrickpony. I suppose he’s pissed that I haven’t gone into a hole and died.”
In a subsequent post, he added: “Honey, is there a wild animal in the garbage?” Wife hears rustling in the trash.
I said, “Looks like Jeff German is digging through our garbage for his 4th piece on me. No, sweetheart.
German’s coworkers said that they were just following the narrative and ‘aggressively’ trying to figure out what transpired as he had instructed them to do.
“The arrest of Robert Telles is at once a huge relief and an outrage for the Review-Journal journalism,” Executive Editor Glenn Cook remarked after the arrest.
“We are happy that Telles is in prison and appalled that it seems a colleague was slain for writing against an elected person.”
If journalists are concerned that disclosing the truth would provoke violent retaliation, they won’t do the vital task that our communities expect of them.
“We commend Las Vegas police for their haste, diligence, and prompt recognition of the horrific gravity of Jeff’s homicide.”
Now, perhaps, a brilliant guy and a courageous reporter may be mourned and honoured, says the Review-Journal, along with the German family and Jeff’s many friends.