Former Nevada politician Robert Telles was convicted of murder in the 2022 stabbing death of a prominent investigative journalist in Las Vegas after Telles wrote an unfavorable story about Telles’ leadership during his time in office.
The 12-member jury reached its verdict on Wednesday, two days after closing arguments.
Judge Telles, wearing a black suit and yellow tie, looked solemn as he awaited the verdict, which he bowed and shook.
The judge is expected to rule on the case at a later hearing.
Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty. Tellez could face life without parole, life with the possibility of parole after 20 years, or a sentence of 20 to 50 years in prison.
Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German, 69, was found stabbed to death on September 3, 2022, outside his home in the Bronze Circle area of Las Vegas.
Telles, 47, a former Clark County executive officer, was arrested Sept. 7 and charged with murder with a deadly weapon and has been held without bail since then.
German had written about allegations of bullying and favouritism in Mr Telles’ office, as well as allegations that he had been romantically involved with a female employee – allegations that Mr Telles admitted to being true for the first time in court last week.
Police said the politician was upset that Gelman was being investigated for other possible wrongdoing.
Telles narrowly lost his bid for re-election to the position that oversees the estates of Clark County residents who die without legal next of kin in the summer of 2022. After losing his seat, he took to social media to criticize German’s reporting and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
During the trial, prosecutors said Telles was acting out of revenge over German’s reporting. Testifying in his own defence, Telles argued he was entrapped and that police had misled the investigation.
Jurors were shown security camera footage which showed a person wearing bright orange clothing and a straw hat entering Jarman’s yard, where he was “ambushed”. When Jarman opened his garage and entered the backyard, he was attacked and brutally stabbed. Other footage showed a person wearing orange clothing getting into a maroon SUV, similar to the Telles family car.
When investigators obtained a warrant and searched Tellez’s home shortly after German’s murder, they found a partially damaged shoe and pieces of a straw hat similar to the suspect’s clothing.
Prosecutors also said Terles’ DNA was found under Jarman’s fingernails, and Terles testified he believed it was a plantation.
Prosecutors also presented a text message from Telles’ wife asking, “Where are you?,” which was sent at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2022, matching the time that a maroon SUV was seen in German’s neighborhood on security camera footage.
Telles maintained his innocence when he took the stand.
Asked about the article Gell-Mann wrote, he said he was “not happy with it,” but added, “I never hated him.”
Telles named office colleagues, real estate agents and business owners he said framed him for German’s murder in retaliation for his efforts to root out corruption during his time as administrator.
But Mr Telles could not explain how those he claims conspired to frame him for murder could have hidden key evidence in his home.
“You know the idea that Mr. Jarman’s throat was slit and he was stabbed in the heart. I’m not the kind of person that would stab someone. I did not kill Mr. Jarman,” Telles said. “That’s my testimony.”
