Robert Telles, the Las Vegas politician accused of stabbing a journalist who wrote unflattering articles about him, has been found guilty of first-degree murder at his high-profile trial.
Telles, 47, looked somber in court Wednesday wearing a gray suit, white shirt and yellow tie as a jury of seven women and five men found him guilty of fatally stabbing Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German, 69.
German was found dead in September 2022 after writing a series of stories about Telles, a former Clark County public official, including an alleged affair between him and a coworker.
Telles was arrested when his DNA was found under German’s fingernails. He has maintained his innocence during his two years in custody and has repeated that he was framed.
During the eight-day trial, jurors heard testimony from dozens of witnesses, investigators, forensic experts and Telles himself. His attorney, Robert Draskovich, told the Review Journal that the multi-day deliberation was ‘clearly in the interests of the defense.’
Robert Telles, the Las Vegas politician accused of fatally stabbing a journalist, has been found guilty of first-degree murder during his high-profile trial
German was found dead in September 2022 after writing a series of stories about Telles, a former Clark County public official, including an account of an alleged affair between him and a staffer
German had published a series of articles accusing Telles, a father of three, of having an affair with co-worker Roberta Lee-Kennett, 45, and facilitating a toxic work environment.
Prosecutors said Telles walked into German’s yard at 11:18 a.m. on September 3 and waited five minutes before the reporter came out of his home.
When German walked outside, he was immediately attacked and stabbed to death.
According to police, Telles’ DNA was found in German’s fingernails. They also saw his car near the victim’s home and collected clothing items matching the killer’s description from Telles’ home.
The clothes – tennis shoes and a straw hat – were already torn when they were found in Telles’ house.
Telles pleaded not guilty, but Lee-Kennett told police Telles was “very angry and upset” with German for his reporting as his re-election campaign neared its end. Authorities said this was his motive.
Police say they found Telles’ DNA on German’s fingernails, spotted his car near the victim’s home and collected clothing matching the killer’s description from Telles’ home.
In an interview with the jury, he said he washed his cars to “take his mind off things.”
Telles insisted he was framed in a 90-minute argument to the jury last week, calling the whole ordeal “a nightmare, quite frankly.”
German had published a series of articles accusing Telles, a father of three, of having an affair with co-worker Roberta Lee-Kennett, 45, (pictured) and of facilitating a toxic workplace
“I am unequivocally innocent,” he said. “I did not kill Mr. German.”
“I’m a little nervous. This is a day I’ve been waiting for almost two years,” Telles told the jury last Wednesday.
According to the judge, Telles had to stick to his ‘personal knowledge and the facts’ instead of expressing theories and opinions.
He argued that based on what he saw in the photos, German’s injuries must have been the result of someone “with some training.”
“I’m not trained in combat myself,” Telles said.
Telles claimed he was “set up” and that he “got really scared” when the thought of being set up first occurred to him.
One of the first similarities he said he noticed was the cars. Telles’ car — a red GMC — matched the vehicle seen on surveillance footage near the victim’s home.
During his testimony, Telles insisted he had been framed in a 90-minute argument to the jury last week, adding that the ordeal had been “a nightmare, quite frankly.” (Photo: German (left) and Telles in May 2022)
In a 90-minute plea to the jury, Telles said the ordeal was “frankly a nightmare”
After the incident, Telles was seen outside his home washing his car.
Speaking to the jury last week, he said he had gone to wash his cars “just to take his mind off things.”
He said surveillance footage released by police of the car in question had different rims than his, meaning it was “clearly not my vehicle.”