• Verdict- Raw Court Audio-NEVADA v. Robert Telles

  • Aug 29 2024
  • Length: 6 mins
  • Podcast

Verdict- Raw Court Audio-NEVADA v. Robert Telles

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  • Summary

  • Robert Telles, a former Nevada politician, was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murdering Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German. Telles, 47, was convicted of first-degree murder after a 12-member jury deliberated for two days. He will be eligible for parole after serving at least 20 years.

    Jeff German, 69, was discovered stabbed to death outside his home in Las Vegas on September 3, 2022. German had published a series of articles criticizing Telles' conduct as Clark County's public administrator. These stories exposed allegations of bullying, favoritism, and an affair between Telles and a female employee, which Telles confirmed in court.

    “Robert Telles decided to be judge, jury and literally the executioner of a man who was simply trying to do his job — to report the news. He executed him,” Clark County Deputy District Attorney Christopher Hamner stated, urging the jury to impose a life sentence on Telles.

    Telles was arrested four days after the murder and has been held without bail since then. He was charged with open murder with a deadly weapon. Prosecutors argued that Telles' motive was revenge for German's reporting, which contributed to Telles' defeat in the June 2022 primary for re-election as public administrator.

    During the trial, the jury was shown security footage capturing a person in bright orange clothing and a straw hat entering German’s yard, lying in wait, and then brutally attacking him. Additional footage depicted a person wearing similar attire entering a maroon SUV, which resembled a vehicle owned by Telles' family. When police searched Telles' home, they found partially destroyed shoes and pieces of a straw hat matching the description of the clothes seen in the video. Moreover, DNA evidence found under German's fingernails linked Telles to the crime, though he claimed it was planted.

    Prosecutors further presented a text from Telles' wife that read, "Where are you?" sent at 10:30 a.m. on September 2, 2022, around the time the maroon SUV was seen in German’s neighborhood.

    Despite the compelling evidence, Telles proclaimed his innocence, claiming he was framed by colleagues, real estate agents, and business owners in retaliation for his efforts to combat corruption while serving as public administrator. "You know, the idea that Mr. German’s throat was slashed and his heart was stabbed... I am not the kind of person who would stab someone. I didn’t kill Mr. German," Telles said in his testimony. "And that’s my testimony."

    However, Telles was unable to provide a plausible explanation for how those he accused of framing him managed to place incriminating evidence in his home.

    The jury convicted Telles of first-degree murder with additional sentencing enhancements for using a deadly weapon and committing a crime against an elderly person. His attorney, Robert Draskovich, appealed for leniency, arguing, "In order for justice to be justice, there has to be an element of mercy."

    Following the verdict, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson dismissed Telles’ claims of being framed. "I think they’re ludicrous," Wolfson told reporters. "There was no conspiracy. The only conspiracy was between him and his evil mind."

    Telles’ conviction and sentencing mark the end of a high-profile case that drew national attention, reflecting the intense and sometimes dangerous intersections of politics, journalism, and the quest for justice.
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