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A jury has sentenced former Nevada politician Robert Tellez, who was convicted of stabbing to death a Las Vegas investigative journalist, to life in prison with the option of parole after a minimum of 20 years.
Telles, a 47-year-old former Clark County executive, was convicted in the September 2022 death of longtime Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German in a trial that highlighted concerns about journalistic safety. Jurors found the murder was “willful, premeditated and planned” and carried out in “ambush.” Telles shook his head as the verdict was read.
Telles faces three possible penalties: a minimum of 50 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison without parole.
During the penalty period on Wednesday, Gelman’s siblings spoke about their brother and how his death has affected their lives.
“It’s just been so devastating for the family. We loved him,” said Jay German, who previously described Jeff as a big brother that all three siblings “counted on.”
Telles’ mother also testified during the sentencing phase, asking the jury for mercy so that her son could be released on parole and be a part of his children’s lives.
Glenn Cook, editor-in-chief of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, released a statement praising the sentence, calling it a “measure of justice” for Jarman and other murdered journalists around the world.
“Jeff was killed for the work he took great pride in – his reporting, holding elected officials accountable for misconduct and empowering voters to choose someone else for that office,” Cook said.
“Today, some justice has been achieved for murdered journalists around the world. Our work is increasingly dangerous and at times perilous. In many countries, murderers of journalists go unpunished. Not in Las Vegas. I thank the police and prosecutors whose hard work secured a conviction.”
“It’s also important to remember that this community lost more than a trusted journalist. Jeff was a good man who leaves behind a loving family and cherished friends. His murder continues to infuriate me. I will miss him.”
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said the sentence sent a clear message that “any attempt to silence the media or to silence or intimidate journalists will not be tolerated.”
The Clark County trial comes nearly two years after the murder, which has raised concerns about violence against journalists in the U.S., where 14 journalists have been killed since 1992, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
German, 69, has written about the underbelly of “Sin City” and covered gangsters, corrupt officials and corrupt government agencies during his ink-stained career, but prosecutors say it was his reporting on a little-known office run by a county elected official that led to the murders.
German wrote about alleged misconduct at the Clark County Executive’s Office, reporting that Telles created a hostile work environment and had inappropriate relationships with employees. Those stories, in part, led to Telles losing his reelection bid in the June 2022 Democratic primary.
The reporter was found dead outside his home on September 2, 2022, with stab wounds.
Prosecutors argued that Telles killed Jarman because he was upset about his article and worried about his next one. They said Telles disguised himself, including wearing a large sun hat, and hid outside Jarman’s home before stabbing him to death.
The prosecution called about two dozen witnesses to the stand and used video and physical evidence to link Telles to the suspect, including his disguise, a maroon vehicle at the scene and DNA found under Jarman’s fingernails.
“He killed Jeff because what he wrote was ruining his career, damaging his reputation, possibly threatening his marriage and exposing things that he himself admitted he did not want public knowledge,” prosecutor Christopher Hamner said in his rebuttal on Monday. “Jeff had not finished writing it, so he went ahead and did it.”
The defense argued that Mr Telles was framed for the death penalty because he was trying to make political changes that would anger the “old establishment”. Testifying in his own defence during the trial, Mr Telles denied any wrongdoing and alleged a plot in which a real estate company had killed the journalist and then hired assassins to frame him.
“I want to state categorically that I am innocent. I did not kill Mr. Jarman,” Telles testified.
The trial began about two weeks ago, and the jury began deciding on the verdict on Monday.
The prosecution’s case focused on security camera footage from Jarman’s neighborhood on the day of the murder, which showed a suspect wearing a large sun hat, an orange jacket and gray Nike sneakers and driving a maroon SUV. They said the suspect hid in the bushes beside Jarman’s house and waited for the journalist to return home before stabbing him and leaving him to die.
The maroon SUV belonged to Telles and was later seen washing his car in front of the home, according to prosecutors. During a search warrant at Telles’ home, police found a large sun hat and gray Nike sneakers that had been cut up and hidden, prosecutors said.
Additionally, DNA taken from under Germán’s fingernails matched Telles’ DNA, prosecutors said, and investigators searched Telles’ phone and found a Google Maps image of Germán’s home, prosecutors said.
During closing arguments Monday, Chief District Attorney Pamela Weckerly again summarized the evidence and presented passages in which Telles criticized Gelman’s article.
“He was obviously very upset that these articles were written and that he lost the primary as a result,” Weckerly said.
Attorney Robert Draskovich focused his defense on challenging the quality of the investigation and arguing there was a lack of evidence. He said investigators had not found any traces of German’s blood on any of Terres’ belongings and questioned damage to the hat and shoes.
Mr. Telles, a lawyer by training, took the stand and gave narrative testimony — that is, he spoke without being questioned by his own lawyer — to present a conspiracy theory that the real estate company, his coworkers, the police, the DNA lab and the prosecutor’s office all agreed to hire an assassin to kill Mr. Jarman and frame him.
“I did not cut up his shoes and hide them under the sofa, I did not cut up his hat and put it in the open door of a toolbox, I did not murder Mr Jarman,” he said.
Telles said he went for a walk on the day of the murder and was watching TV at home before heading to the gym. He showed police cellphone records of his activities that day and said nothing was “suspicious.”
But in a tense cross-examination, prosecutor Christopher Hamner pointed to inconsistencies between Telles’ phone records and text messages from his wife’s Apple Watch, including one in which she asked, “Where are you?”
In closing arguments, Telles’ lawyers expressed sympathy for their client’s point of view but did not fully endorse Telles’ theory of the conspiracy.
“It’s understandable why he believes in this far-reaching conspiracy,” Draskovich said. “What other options does he have under these circumstances?”
But in the prosecution’s rebuttal, Hamner ridiculed the conspiracy, telling jurors in no uncertain terms that it “doesn’t make sense.”
“This case gives us a glimpse into what’s going on in his mind, it shows how important Mr. Telles thinks he is, that each and every one of these people, these organizations, were willing to literally kill someone who wasn’t him just to pin a crime on Mr. Telles,” Hamner said. “Does that make sense? And more importantly, where is the evidence to back it up?”
This story has been updated with additional information.
