A Nevada judge has sentenced a Las Vegas-area Democrat to a minimum of 28 years in prison for murdering an investigative reporter.
As Slay News previously reported, Robert Telles was found guilty of killing Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German.
Telles murdered the journalist, who wrote articles critical of the Democrat politician, outside German’s home during Labor Day weekend in 2022.
On Wednesday, Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt dropped the hammer on Telles, telling the killer he will spend at least 28 years behind bars before he is eligible for parole.
The judge invoked sentencing enhancements to add eight years to the minimum 20 years to life sentence that a jury set in August after finding 47-year-old Telles guilty.
69-year-old German spent 44 years covering crime, courts, and corruption in Las Vegas.
At the time of German’s death, Telles was the elected Democrat administrator of a Clark County office that handles unclaimed estate and probate property cases.
Just before Telles’ sentencing, German’s devastated brother Jay told the courtroom:
“We lost a brother, we lost an uncle, a friend, a leader.
“We are still in shock and it’s been two years.
“It’s going to take a long time to recover from this.
“We have a lot of anxiety about the future safety of our family… if Robert Telles were to be released after just 20 years’ incarceration.”
Telles also spoke to the court on Wednesday.
He denied any responsibility for German’s death, despite the overwhelming evidence that led to his conviction.
“The family has my deepest condolences, Mr. German was very impactful in the community, he made a difference, and we know from testimony by the family that he was a good brother and a good uncle,” Telles said.
“And I understand the desire to seek justice and have somebody accountable for this.”
“But I did not kill Mr. German,” he claimed.
“And unfortunately the people who should be held responsible, who should be brought to justice, the chances of that happening now — right this minute — are slim to none.
“That said, again my deepest sympathies to the family and I wish them well as they navigate the rest of this tragedy.”
Telles blamed German’s reporting after he lost his primary for a second term in office.
German’s stories in May and June 2022 described turmoil at the Clark County Public Administrator/Guardian office.
In one of the articles, German wrote that “a half-dozen current and former employees interviewed by the Review-Journal are alleging the hostile work environment was fueled by the elected administrator of the office, Robert Telles, carrying on an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with a staffer that has harmed the office’s ability to deal with the public in overseeing the estates of those who have died.”
Prosecutor Christopher Hamner said during closing arguments of the murder trial that German wasn’t finished in his work of exposing Telles.
The exposés ultimately led the Democrat politician to kill the veteran journalist.
“And he did it because Jeff wasn’t done writing,” Hamner said.
“It’s like connecting the dots.
“He murdered him because Jeff’s writing destroyed his career.
“It destroyed his reputation.
“It threatened probably his marriage.
“Exposed things that even he admitted he did not want the public to know.”
Telles testified for several hours at his trial, admitting for the first time that reports of the office romance were true, according to The Associated Press.
He denied killing German and said he was “framed” by a broad conspiracy involving a real estate company, police, DNA analysts, former co-workers, and others.
He also told the jury he was victimized for crusading to root out corruption.
However, the evidence included Telles’ DNA being found beneath German’s fingernails.
German was found slashed and stabbed to death in a side yard outside his home.
Telles is accused in a criminal complaint of “lying in wait” at the property for German to come outside.
Telles’ attorney, Robert Draskovich, has said Telles intends to appeal his conviction.
https://slaynews.com/news/judge-throws-book-nevada-democrat-convicted-murdering-reporter-least-28-years-prison/
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