LAS VEGAS — The DNA from a now-arrested elected Nevada official was discovered on the scene of a Las Vegas reporter’s slaying, authorities mentioned Thursday, revealing the official was additionally “upset” about tales the reporter was pursuing.
Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles, 45, misplaced his re-election bid in June amid fallout from a sequence of crucial articles Las Vegas Evaluation-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German revealed earlier this yr. Telles, who faces one depend of homicide with a lethal weapon, made his first courtroom look Thursday and was denied bail.
New particulars outlining what led police to shut in on Telles as their prime suspect days after German, 69, was fatally stabbed exterior his dwelling final week had been revealed at a Thursday information convention.
“Telles was upset about articles being written by German as an investigative journalist that uncovered potential wrongdoing,” Las Vegas police Capt. Dori Koren mentioned, including on the time of the assault, Telles had lately found “there was further reporting that was pending.”
Authorities took Telles into custody Wednesday night following an hourslong standoff at his dwelling. He was hospitalized for what Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo described as self-inflicted wounds. The arrest got here simply hours after the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Division had concluded a search of his property and autos.
Authorities: Bloody footwear, DNA lead to Robert Telles’ arrest
German was stabbed exterior his northwest Las Vegas dwelling, police mentioned, however authorities didn’t study of his demise till Saturday when a 911 caller reported discovering German’s physique on the aspect of his home.
Authorities initially suspected the slaying may need been carried out by an individual casing German’s neighborhood “to commit different crimes.” A safety digital camera photograph confirmed the killer carrying a duffel bag and sporting an orange work shirt with reflective stripes, gloves and a wide-brimmed straw hat.
JEFF GERMAN CASE:Las Vegas public official arrested on suspicion of homicide in investigative reporter’s demise
Investigators now consider Telles dressed that solution to disguise his id and ties to German, Koren mentioned Thursday.
Whereas looking Telles’ property Wednesday, detectives collected a DNA pattern from the suspect, which police mentioned got here again as a optimistic match for DNA discovered on the scene of German’s killing. After receiving the outcomes of the DNA testing later that afternoon, police obtained an arrest warrant, resulting in the standoff.
Police additionally situated a pair of footwear stained with dried blood and a straw hat throughout their search, Koren mentioned, however as of Thursday, the weapon used within the assault had not been discovered.
Arrest report particulars lethal assault
A newly launched arrest report obtained by the USA TODAY Community outlined that German was stabbed a number of instances in a shock assault. Authorities consider German fought again, detectives wrote within the three-page report, as a result of he had “defensive” wounds. The suspect’s DNA was discovered below German’s fingernails.
On the morning of the assault, the report says, Telles had been in German’s neighborhood for a couple of half-hour earlier than the demise. After the assault, the suspect stood up and “calmly walked” away from German’s dwelling, the report states.
The suspect returned to German’s home minutes later, showing “to search for one thing,” the report reads.
MORE ON THE KILLING:Las Vegas investigative reporter stabbed to demise in altercation exterior dwelling, police say
A reporter who ‘devoted his life’ to journalism
German joined the Evaluation-Journal in 2010 after greater than twenty years on the Las Vegas Solar, the place he was a columnist and reporter who lined courts, politics, labor, authorities and arranged crime. He was 69.
In an announcement, German’s household referred to as him “a loving and dependable brother, uncle and good friend who devoted his life to his work exposing wrongdoing in Las Vegas and past.”
“We’re shocked, saddened and indignant about his demise,” the assertion mentioned. “Jeff was dedicated to in search of justice for others and would admire the onerous work by native police and journalists in pursuing his killer. We sit up for seeing justice accomplished on this case.”
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Glenn Prepare dinner, government editor of the Evaluation-Journal, mentioned in an announcement that “the arrest of Robert Telles is directly an unlimited aid and an outrage for the Evaluation-Journal newsroom.”
“We’re relieved Robert Telles is in custody and outraged {that a} colleague seems to have been killed for reporting on an elected official,” the assertion mentioned. “Journalists can’t do the vital work our communities require if they’re afraid a presentation of info might result in violent retribution. We thank Las Vegas police for his or her urgency and onerous work and for instantly recognizing the horrible significance of Jeff’s killing.”
“Hopefully, the Evaluation-Journal, the German household and Jeff’s many mates can start the method of mourning and honoring a terrific man and a courageous reporter,” it mentioned.
Suspect complained about information articles
Telles, a lawyer who practiced probate and property legislation, received his elected place in 2018, changing a three-term public administrator. He misplaced his June get together major to Assistant Public Administrator Rita Reid, who faces a Republican challenger in November. Telles’ time period expires Dec. 31.
Within the weeks earlier than the election, German bylined studies about an workplace “mired in turmoil and inside dissension” between longtime workers and new hires below Telles’ management.
Telles blamed “old-timers” for exaggerating the extent of his relationship with a feminine staffer and falsely claiming that he mistreated them. He mentioned all of his workers had been “comfortable” they usually’d “virtually doubled the productiveness within the workplace.”
Telles later posted Twitter complaints about German, the Evaluation-Journal reported, together with claims in June that German was a bully who was “obsessed” with him.
German, a reporter with a popularity for tenacity, was engaged on follow-up studies, the newspaper mentioned Wednesday, and lately filed public information requests for emails and textual content messages between Telles and three different county officers, together with Reid and guide Michael Murphy.
Contributing: The Related Press
Rio Lacanlale is the Las Vegas correspondent for the Reno Gazette Journal and the USA In the present day Community. Contact her at rlacanlale@gannett.com
