Former politician convicted of killing Las Vegas reporter in 2022 sentenced to 20 years to life – 104.5 WOKV

LAS VEGAS — (AP) — A former Las Vegas-area Democratic politician has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years for murder in the killing of an investigative journalist who wrote articles criticizing his conduct in elected office, a Nevada jury decided Wednesday.

Robert Telles hung his head and shook 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 on August 12.

Telles, 47, has been in jail without bail since his arrest, several days after Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German was found stabbed to death in a side yard of his home over Labor Day weekend 2022.

During a break in the trial, defense attorney Robert Draskovich declined to characterize his client's emotional reaction to the verdict. He said Telles intends to appeal.

The jury then heard testimony from German and Telles' family members and began deliberating on Telles's verdict.

If Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt imposes a higher sentence on October 16, Telles could face a minimum of 21 years to life in prison and a maximum of 28 years to life in prison.

Draskovich asked the twelve-member jury for “a little bit of mercy… a little bit of hope.”

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said outside the courtroom that he was surprised at how long the jury deliberated before returning the verdict, but was confident the jury had carefully considered the evidence.

“The jury hit the nail on the head with the right verdict,” Wolfson said.

Wolfson, an elected Democrat, said German “enjoyed an outstanding reputation in this community” and called it “a crying shame, literally and figuratively, that he is no longer with us.”

Wolfson also dismissed as “ridiculous” Telles' claims that a vast conspiracy of individuals – including Wolfson – had framed him for German's killing in retaliation for his efforts to root out the corruption he had identified in his office.

“I'm not the type of person who would stab someone. I did not kill Mr. German,” Telles told the jury on the witness stand last week. “And that is my testimony.”

Telles' wife, ex-wife and mother were called as character witnesses in the criminal proceedings.

Tears came to Telles' eyes as his wife, Mary Ann “Mae” Ismael, described him as a “great” provider for their blended family, consisting of their son, his daughter and their daughter, during their 14-year marriage.

“I would love to give the children a chance to get their father back after his prison sentence,” Ismael said.

Telles' ex-wife Tonia Burton noted that their eldest child, a daughter of Telles, is 16.

His mother, Rosalinda Anaya, said, “I accept the verdict” and addressed the jury, “I ask you to give my son a chance at parole.”

In their first public comments since the killing, German's brother Jay German and his two sisters Jill Zwerg and Julie Smith described him as a loving brother and uncle to their children.

“He was the older brother we all leaned on,” said Jay German, calling the killing “devastating.”

Zwerg said her oldest brother – a dedicated reporter and writer who moved from Milwaukee to Las Vegas and loved his job – always told her why he turned down offers from other newspapers to move to other cities.

“'This is Las Vegas, the city of sin,'” he told her. “'This is where I need to be.'”

German, 69, reported on crime, courts and corruption in Las Vegas for 44 years.

Prosecutor Christopher Hamner told jurors during his closing argument Monday that finding Telles guilty was like “connecting the dots” based on the overwhelming evidence they had heard, including DNA matching Telles's found under German's fingernails.

Hamner insisted that German fought to the death with his attacker and that Telles blamed German for destroying his career, ruining his reputation and threatening his marriage.

Telles, an attorney who practiced civil law before being elected in 2018, lost his primary for a second term after German's stories appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal in May and June 2022. They described turmoil and bullying in the Clark County Public Administrator/Guardian's office, as well as a romantic relationship between Telles and a female co-worker.

Prosecutor Pamela Weckerly presented a timeline and videos showing Telles' maroon SUV leaving the neighborhood near his home shortly after 9 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2022, and driving on streets near German's home a short time later.

The driver of the SUV is seen wearing a bright orange outfit similar to that of a person seen on camera walking to German's home and slipping into a side yard where German was attacked shortly after 11:15 a.m.

A little over two minutes later, the figure in orange appeared, walking down a sidewalk. German did not reappear.

Evidence showed that Telles' wife texted him around 10:30 a.m. asking “Where are you?” Prosecutors said Telles left his cellphone at home so he couldn't be tracked. Telles told the jury he went for a walk and went to a gym in the afternoon.

Katherine Jacobsen, United States, Canada and Caribbean program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, issued a statement minutes after the verdict was announced. She mourned German's death and said the verdict “sends an important message that the killing of journalists will not be tolerated.”

“It is crucial that the murders of journalists are taken seriously and the perpetrators are brought to justice,” Jacobsen said.

According to the New York-based committee, German was the only journalist killed in the United States in 2022. The nonprofit organization has records of 17 media workers killed in the United States since 1992.

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Associated Press videographer Ty O'Neil contributed to this report.

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