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Disgraced Las Vegas politician Robert Telles was seen smiling in court Tuesday as prosecutors officially accused him of “lying in wait” outside Jeff German’s home before stabbing the investigative reporter at least seven times.
Telles, 45, has been charged with open murder with the use of a deadly weapon in the Sept. 2 slaying of German outside his Las Vegas home. In a criminal complaint filed in Clark County on Monday, prosecutors alleged that Telles was “intentional, knowing and premeditated” when he attacked the 69-year-old. German had written several articles about Telles’ alleged wrongdoing as the county’s public administrator, a post for which he had recently lost a re-election bid.
The public official, who is technically still being paid for his role before his term expires in December, was seen standing at the door of a Clark County courtroom for his arraignment Tuesday, smiling with bandages wrapped around his forearms. During the brief hearing, Telles’ attorneys asked for a continuance — meaning he will be back in court next Tuesday.
Telles is currently being held without bond in the Clark County Jail and faces a sentence of life in prison. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson told reporters outside the courtroom that prosecutors plan to ask for a “very high” bail and that Telles “poses a flight risk and danger to the community.”
Criminal defense attorney Ozzie Fumo, who was asked to help authorities lure Telles out of his home on Wednesday to surrender, told The Daily Beast he went to see Telles in jail Saturday.
“He was still on suicide watch,” Fumo said via text message Monday. “I only spent a few minutes with him. I confirmed with him that he gave the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department my name to contact me. I explained to him that I would not be able to represent him in his case.”
Telles’ defense attorney, Travis Shetler, could not be reached for comment.
While prosecutors are still sketching out a full motive, Deputy District Attorney Richard Scow linked German’s reporting about Telles to the killing during a hearing last week.
“The published articles of a public figure, the office of the public administrator, were destroyed [Telles’] political career, probably his marriage, and he was the one who hit on the case,” Scow said.
Las Vegas Metro Police Capt. Dori Koren added last week that “Telles was upset about articles written by German as an investigative reporter uncovering potential wrongdoing, and Telles had publicly expressed his problems with this reporting.” “And then ultimately Telles was also upset — from what we found out later — that there was further reporting pending,” Koren said.
The sordid saga that sent shockwaves throughout Las Vegas and the journalism community began around 11:18 on September 2nd. The complaint says surveillance footage shows a suspect in a straw hat and reflective shirt entering the Germans’ pedestrian gate. A few minutes later, German’s garage door opens and he is seen walking out.
“German approached the pedestrian gate and was immediately attacked,” an arrest report for Telles said. “German fell to the ground and never got up again.”
The report adds that “the suspect got up and calmly walked east, away from [German’s] residence.” Authorities believe Telles wore a disguise “to conceal his identity and avoid implication in the murder.”
A medical examiner concluded that German suffered seven stab wounds and had defense marks on his arms and hands. The arrest report also notes that Telles’ DNA was found under the reporters’ fingernails.
A neighbor, Jay Sabs, previously told The Daily Beast that his home security camera captured the man, identified by police as Telles, pacing outside his home around the time of the killing at the northwest corner of Bronze Circle and Wintergreen Drive. Sabs added that the footage showed a maroon Yukon — which authorities eventually linked to Telles — passing his house. A man is also seen in the footage walking around for about 10 to 15 minutes.
The arrest report says when police spoke with Telles’ wife, she said that on the day of the incident, she was unable to reach him on his cell phone.
Telles was questioned by the police last Wednesday, where he voluntarily handed over clothes to investigators. Wolfson told reporters that after the conversation, investigators “rushed” a test on his DNA.
Telles was arrested that night after an hour-long standoff in which he barricaded himself in his home and police called Fumo to help coax their man into surrendering. Telles suffered “self-inflicted wounds” during the incident and was briefly treated at a local hospital.
If you or a loved one is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the crisis text line by texting TALK to 741741. You can also text or call 988.
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