A former Nevada politician has been convicted of first-degree murder for killing a journalist who wrote a critical article about his tenure in office.
Robert Telles, 47, has been held without bail since 2022 for the stabbing death of Jeff German, an investigative journalist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
During the trial, prosecutors presented jurors with DNA evidence found under Jarman’s fingernails that they argued belonged to Telles, who has maintained his innocence.
The 12-person jury returned its guilty verdict on Wednesday after two days of deliberations. Hours later, the same jury sentenced Telles to life in prison.
Telles, who was elected Clark County executive in 2018, sat expressionless in the courtroom Wednesday as the judge convened the jury.
He bowed his head as the guilty verdict was read.
“The jury unanimously finds that the murder was intentional, premeditated and planned,” Juror No. 2 told the court.
Telles was sentenced to life in prison in a separate hearing late Wednesday and will be eligible for parole after serving 20 years.
The seven women and five men who make up the jury deliberated for about 12 hours starting Monday before finally reaching their conclusion.
The trial lasted for two weeks.
Dozens of witnesses testified in court, including detectives, forensic experts, people who knew the former politician and Telles himself.
He claimed he had been entrapped.
“This has been a nightmare,” the defendant said about a week into the trial. “I want to state unequivocally that I am innocent. I did not kill Mr. Jarman.”
In September 2022, German, 69, was found outside his Nevada home with seven stab wounds in his neck and torso.
Prosecutors charged that Telles killed Jarman because of a damning article he wrote about Jarman’s actions as an elected official.
One person alleged that Telles had an “inappropriate” relationship with a staff member, while several others alleged hostile behavior in Telles’ Las Vegas office.
Teles, a Democrat, lost his 2022 primary for a second term as commissioner after German’s article was published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal before the election.
Security camera footage retrieved by police and shown to the jury showed the assailant wearing a large straw hat and trainers outside Mr Jarman’s home.
Authorities later found remains of similar items in Tellez’s home, but they had been chopped up.
Prosecutors argued that Telles was seen on security video hiding in bushes outside German’s home and then trying to dispose of the evidence.
Telles’s lawyers argued that the shredded evidence was placed in the former politician’s home to incriminate their client, and they disputed claims that Jarman’s article was a “motive for murder”.
But prosecutors presented DNA evidence, a timeline and video of Telles’ SUV driving down a road near German’s home just before the killing, with the driver wearing clothing similar to someone seen on security camera footage.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson spoke to reporters outside the courtroom on Wednesday, praising the jury’s verdict.
“The jury was very successful this time,” he said. “They hit a home run by returning the right verdict.”
A veteran reporter, Jarman has covered New York City and corruption for more than 40 years.
At the time of his death, he had one more article planned to be published about Teres.
“With its verdict, the jury provided a measure of justice for Mr. German,” Glenn Cook, editor-in-chief of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, said in a statement.
“Jeff (Jarman) was killed for a job he took great pride in. His reporting held elected officials accountable for misconduct and empowered voters to choose someone else for that office.”
