Ex-politician found guilty of murder in killing of investigative reporter sentenced to 20 years to life
FILE-Robert Telles is on the witness stand on the ninth day of his murder trial at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
A former politician who was found guilty of murder in the killing of a Las Vegas investigative reporter was handed down a sentence of 20 years to life with the possibility of parole.
Robert Telles hung his head, shaking it slightly from side to side as the guilty verdict was read. Jurors deliberated for nearly 12 hours over three days after hearing eight days of evidence in his trial, which began August 12.
Telles, 47, faced life in prison without parole, life with parole eligibility at 20 years, or 20 to 50 years in prison. The Associated Press reports that a conviction also for use of a deadly weapon would add one to eight years to his sentence.
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Prosecutors presented evidence in the trial against Telles, including DNA tying him to German’s killing. Telles claimed he was "framed" in the case. Sentencing for Telles will occur at a hearing scheduled for a later date.
The 47-year-old has been in jail without bail since his arrest after Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German, who spent 44 years covering crime, courts, and corruption in Las Vegas, was found slashed and stabbed to death outside his home on Labor Day weekend in 2022.
Telles denied killing German, 69, alleging a conspiracy of people framed him for German’s murder in retaliation for his effort to erase corruption he saw in his office.
According to the AP, Telles is an attorney and practiced civil law before he was elected in 2018, but after his arrest his law license was suspended.
The AP noted that Telles lost his primary for a second elected term after German's stories appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal in May and June 2022. The stories were critical of Telles’ behavior in elected office, including an alleged romantic relationship between Telles and an employee.