Suspect arraigned in killing of journalist
Arraignment hearing begins for Las Vegas official charged in murder of journalist in 2022.
A former Las Vegas Democrat government official who is charged with killing a journalist last year has filed a complaint against police, alleging misconduct, according to local reports.
Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles was charged with murdering Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German in August 2022.
Telles has since filed a complaint against the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD), alleging officers violated policies during a Jan. 27, 2023, incident, according to the Review-Journal.
The 46-year-old city official is charged with open murder in German's killing and has been detained in the Clark County Detention Center since September.
LAS VEGAS POLICE SAY ROBERT TELLES, SUSPECT IN JOURNALIST'S SLAYING, ATTEMPTED TO 'DESTROY EVIDENCE
Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles is charged with killing Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German in August 2022. (K.M. Cannon / Las Vegas Review-Journal / Tribune News Service / File)
LVMPD said the Citizens Review Board "will review the allegations provide by Mr. Telles," and the police department "will not be providing a response to his allegations."
DEMOCRAT LAS VEGAS OFFICIAL ARRESTED IN MURDER OF JOURNALIST JEFF GERMAN: REPORT
Telles is representing himself in the murder case and has argued that the incident, including the alleged murder, was a setup, the Review-Journal reports.
Robert Telles has reportedly filed a complaint against LVMPD, alleging misconduct during a January incident. (K.M. Cannon / Las Vegas Review-Journal / Tribune News Service / File)
Telles was a person of interest during LVMPD's preliminary investigation because he was apparently disgruntled about an article that German had recently written about allegations of a hostile work environment in Telles' office. The public administrator had lost his bid for reelection in June after German published his findings, the outlet reported.
The journalist had also recently submitted a public records request for text messages between Telles and three other county officials, according to the Review-Journal.
Robert Telles, left, is charged with fatally stabbing veteran Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German over stories that ruined his career and marriage, according to prosecutors. (LVMPD | AP)
Police revealed after his September 2022 arrest, however, that they recovered a cut-up straw hat and cut-up gray sneakers with blood stains from Telles' home during their investigation into German's murder.
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The items were cut up "in a manner that was likely an attempt to destroy evidence," LVMPD homicide Detective Dori Koren said during a press conference at the time.
Robert Telles (Erik Verduzco / Las Vegas Review-Journal / File)
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Police also said they found Telles' DNA at the crime scene.
"This has been an unusual investigation from the beginning," then-LVMPD Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said during the press conference. "… Every murder [is] tragic, but the killing of a journalist is particularly troublesome."
