A Las Vegas elected official has been arrested in the stabbing death of an investigative reporter, according to police.
Democrat Robert Telles, Clark County’s Public Administrator, lost his reelection bid after Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German wrote a series of articles about him. Recent records requests by German, asking for emails between Telles and other county officials, indicated the investigative reporter was not done writing about Telles.
He stands accused of murdering the reporter after his distinctive vehicle seemed to tie him to the crime scene.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal further reported:
Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles was arrested on suspicion of murder Wednesday evening in the fatal stabbing of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German, whose investigation of the politician contributed to his primary election loss in June.
The stunning development came a day after Las Vegas police asked for the public’s help in identifying a suspect in the case. An early morning search of Telles’ home on Wednesday provided the first indication that the Friday killing might be related to German’s work exposing public wrongdoing. The investigative reporter was pursuing a potential follow-up story about Telles in the weeks before he was killed.
Police arrived at Telles’ home on Spanish Steps Lane in the western valley around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday and blocked off nearby streets. Shortly before 9 a.m., police released a statement saying they were “currently serving search warrants” in connection with the homicide investigation.
They provided no further information until Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo told the Review-Journal at around 6:30 p.m. that Telles had been arrested. Shortly before that, a Review-Journal photographer captured an image of Telles on a stretcher as he was loaded into an ambulance.
“The arrest of Robert Telles is at once an enormous relief and an outrage for the Review-Journal newsroom,” Executive Editor Glenn Cook said. “We are relieved Telles is in custody and outraged that a colleague appears to have been killed for reporting on an elected official. Journalists can’t do the important work our communities require if they are afraid a presentation of facts could lead to violent retribution.”
Police released the image during a news conference Tuesday afternoon. Later that evening, Review-Journal reporters observed Telles in the driveway of his home, standing next to a vehicle matching that description.
After Telles was arrested, police announced that [Sheriff] Lombardo and Capt. Dori Koren would provide an update on the investigation Thursday morning. Las Vegas Justice Court records show that Telles has an initial appearance scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
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