Jury selection underway for ex-Las Vegas politician accused of murdering journalist

After facing several delays, the criminal trial of a former Las Vegas Democratic elected official is underway, with jury selection scheduled to begin on Monday. 

Robert Telles, a former Clark County public administrator, is accused of stabbing to death former Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German on Sept. 3, 2022.

German’s body was found in the side yard of his house by a neighbor. German suffered from seven stab wounds to his neck and torso, according to police. 

Five months before his death, German began writing a series of articles reporting on the workplace environment Telles had cultivated. German had reported on accusations by Telles’s co-workers that he was having an affair with his co-worker Roberta Lee-Kennett. Co-workers of Telles shared with German photos and videos of the married father of three meeting with Lee-Kennett in a mall parking garage before getting in the backseat of Lee-Kennett’s car. 

Telles lost his election following the series of articles published. 

Days after German’s body was discovered, Telles was arrested. He accused the police of illegally detaining him before his arrest and claimed that the body-camera footage worn when he was arrested was improperly deleted. 

A camera stationed across the street from German’s home recorded a man wearing a straw hat and an orange work shirt carrying a shoulder bag and crouching in the grassy area beside German’s garage. Inside Telles’s home, police found remnants of a straw hat and a bloody shoe that matched the shoe worn by the attacker. Authorities said they found Telles’s DNA underneath German’s fingernails. 

Surveillance footage also picked up a red Yukon Denali, which was the same type of car owned by Telles’s wife. 

He has been held without bail for almost two years, and his defense lawyer, Robert Draskovich, said he has been eager to go to trial. 

“He’s been looking forward to trial,” Draskovich said ahead of Monday’s proceedings. “He wants to tell his story.”

Criminal proceedings for the case have been moving slowly due to a dispute between Las Vegas authorities and prosecutors and the newspaper about protecting the confidential sources on German’s cellphone and computers. 

The paper argued that the names and material on German’s devices were protected by Nevada state law and the First Amendment. The Supreme Court ruled in favor with the paper and said it could review German’s devices before being searched by police for possible evidence. 

Telles has tried to get his case thrown out of court several times, and Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt will hear a final request by Telles to dismiss the charges. He also attempted to get Leavitt removed from the case. 

More than 100 possible jurors filled out questionnaires about what they had heard about the case. Securing a jury with alternates is expected to take several days, and the testimony is expected to take less than two weeks. 

If convicted, Telles could face life in prison.