Kriti Mehrotra
When investigative reporter Jeffrey “Jeff” German was found stabbed to death outside his Las Vegas Valley home on September 3, 2022, it honestly left the entire nation baffled to its core. That’s because, as carefully explored in CBS’ ’48 Hours: The Assassination of Jeff German,’ the kind of work he did over four decades truly turned out to be groundbreakingly dangerous. It turns out Clark County official Robert Telles was allegedly the one behind this brutal homicide all because the former had penned a column questioning his workplace integrity months prior.
Who is Robert Telles?
It was reportedly back when Robert was just a child that he first developed a keen interest in the legal, judicial, and government systems, only for it to continue expanding as the years passed. The truth is he actually hails from a political dynasty in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, yet he still initially chose to work in the trade industry before deciding to finally dip his toes into law school. He was thus in his 30s, a proud father of three in his second union, plus an air conditioning technician at the College of Southern Nevada when he enrolled at the University of Nevada- Las Vegas.
It hence comes as no surprise Robert was nearly 37 at the time of his night school graduation in 2014, just for him to become a licensed attorney and establish his own practice the following year. Accolade Law in Las Vegas was purportedly quick to do wonders, especially with him operating in estate as well as probate civil law for a few years before realizing his true calling was in the political realm. That’s when he began working towards evolving into a democratic candidate for Clark County office, in which he succeeded to such an extent he was elected public administrator in early 2019.
According to reports, Robert was subsequently given sole charge of handling Sin City’s unclaimed dead estates, only to then indicate he was hoping to go for posts like Commissioner or Governor next. However, everything turned upside down for this official in May 2022 as Jeff German came forward with claims suggesting he’d created a hostile work environment and gotten involved with a staffer. Whether it be making sexual innuendos, getting inappropriately close to his workers, or making remarks on the grounds of their religion, he apparently did it all despite being an active civil servant.
Though it later came to light Robert had been showing signs of such toxic behavior for over a decade, starting with him having groped a fellow student in 2012 while attending law school. As per reports, he even kissed his former paralegal’s ear before touching her inappropriately, castigated his firm’s employees for eating lunch at their desks or decorating the space for a colleague’s birthday, and often went as far as to threaten demotion to those he perceived had wronged him. All this, along with the fact he’d also ostensibly been arrested in 2020 for battering his wife while drunk, was revealed by Jeff, ultimately resulting in the former losing the ensuing Clark County elections.
Robert thus blamed Jeff for his entire downfall, but his attitude still didn’t improve — he allegedly continued threatening, snubbing, or misbehaving with those directly under his command. Regardless, per court documents, his last straw came when an attorney contacted him in early September to make it known that all his e-mails would be released to Jeff so as to aid his work. Mere hours later, the investigative reporter was stabbed to death outside his valley home following a suspected altercation — he suffered seven wounds to the neck and torso, just for Robert to be arrested in connection on September 7.
Robert Telles is Awaiting Trial Behind Bars
In the four full days of investigations prior to Robert’s arrest, detectives honestly followed several leads until they realized most of them pointed right back to Jeff’s most recent target of coverage. It was actually his DNA under the victim’s fingernails, plus a search of his home yielded clothing as well as shoe pieces that matched those worn by the suspect in surveillance footage at the time of the killing. As if that’s not enough, his social media platforms are proof he didn’t have a high opinion of Jeff — he once tweeted: “Wife hears rustling in the trash. Her: ‘Honey, is there a wild animal in the trash?’ Me: ‘No, dear. Looks like it’s @JGermanRJ going through our trash for his 4th story on me.'”
However, on the other hand, upon pleading not guilty to murder and pushing for as early of a jury trial as possible, once self-representing Robert has since argued he is simply being framed. He asserted all the “overwhelming” physical evidence was planted inside his home by officials, and they didn’t even properly request their search warrants, let alone get permission to track his phone.
Nevertheless, Robert remains detained in the county jail at the moment — he has since lawyered up and is seemingly scheduled to stand trial for the murder charge against him in March 2024. We should also mention he’s being investigated for allegedly taking bribes during his stint as Public Admin; so if convicted for both, he faces life in prison without parole plus an additional few years.
Read More: Roberta Lee-Kennett: Where is Robert Telles’ Ex-Girlfriend Now?
