Robert Telles, the former Clark County, Nevada, elected official who is charged with murder in the death of journalist Jeff German, is expected to take the stand in his own defense. His testimony could come as soon as Tuesday.
The defense began calling witnesses Tuesday after the prosecution rested its case Monday after calling more than two dozen witnesses in four days of testimony. The former public administrator has pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder. If convicted, he faces life in prison as prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.
The court is in recess for lunch until 1:30 p.m. PT, 4:30 p.m. ET.
Prosecutors have accused Telles, a Democrat, of “lying in wait” and killing the reporter, who had written several articles critical of the official, a Nevada jury was told Monday. Hundreds of photos of German’s home and neighborhood were found on Telles’ cellphone and computer, prosecutors said, including an image of Telles’ work computer with results of internet searches through a password-protected site that retrieved German’s name, home address, vehicle registration and date of birth.
Prosecutor Christopher Hamner noted for jurors that photo was taken Aug. 23, 2022 — less than two weeks before German was slashed and stabbed to death in a side yard of his home.
“This image came out of Mr. Telles’ phone?” Hamner asked Matthew Hovanec, a Las Vegas digital forensics supervisor who testified Monday about “extracting” the data from Telles’ devices.
“It did,” Hovanec responded.
Detective Justine Gatus, the primary Las Vegas police homicide investigator of German’s death, was the main — and final — witness called Monday.
Gatus cited Las Vegas Review-Journal articles about Telles and the county office that German wrote, published in May and June 2022, about a county office in turmoil.
“They weren’t flattering,” the detective observed.
Social media posts by Telles at the same time derided German and the articles as false depictions of his efforts to fight corruption amid a political and social “old guard” real estate network.Â
The 69-year-old journalist had spent 44 years covering Las Vegas mobsters and public officials at the Las Vegas Sun and then at the rival Review-Journal before his death in 2022. About 10 of his family members and friends have attended each day of Telles’ trial, but have not spoken publicly about the killing. They declined as a group on Monday to comment.
Telles insists he didn’t kill German and was framed for the crime.
