LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Closing arguments are expected Monday in the trial of an ex-politician accused of killing a Las Vegas investigative reporter in 2022.
On Friday, defense attorneys representing Robert Telles, the former Clark County Public Administrator accused of killing Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German, rested their case. The move came on day 10 of the high-profile trial that saw the ex-politician take the stand in his own defense, initially telling his own story by narrative, a practice that 8 News Now Investigators sources said could occur when a defense attorney feels uncomfortable or concerned about that defendant’s testimony.
Upon cross-examination of Telles, prosecuting attorney Chris Hamner interrogated the former Public Administrator, calling into question Telles’ belief of a vast conspiracy orchestrated by several Public Administrator’s office officials, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department detectives, officers, and even officials from LVMPD’s DNA lab, alongside individuals from a local real estate company. At the conclusion of the trial’s ninth day, Hamner dropped a piece of blockbuster evidence: an image of a message not present on either Telles’ phone or his wife’s phone but that was present on Telles’ wife’s Apple Watch. The message appeared to have been sent at the time of German’s murder from Telles’ wife to Telles, asking, “Where are you?”
The court reconvened at 10:15 a.m. with Judge Michelle Leavitt delivering instructions to the jury; the guidance jurors will use regarding deliberation. Because of Jeff German’s age, being that he was over 60 at the time of his death, the charge holds an enhancement of one to 20 years on top of the murder charge should Telles be found guilty.
The jury was told they must be unanimous in their conviction of first or second-degree murder. They were also told not to be influenced by or consider the conviction penalty, although they would choose Telles’ penalty should they convict him. Judge Leavitt advised that all direct and circumstantial evidence should be considered.
At 10:30 a.m., the prosecution began their closing arguments. State attorney Pam Weckerly began by recounting Jeff German’s articles and their effect on Robert Telles, leading to him losing his reelection bid for Public Administrator in Clark County. Displaying text messages, Weckerly read that Telles was “distraught” about German “adding to the pressure” of his life.
“The reality is he lost that primary election after those articles were written, and he attributed it the articles written by Jeff German,” Weckerly said.
She read messages where Telles said he “hate[d] them and what they did,” and expressed his concern about another article being produced.
Weckerly recounted the timeline leading up to German’s stabbing death. On July 22, 2022, German sent a public records request for Microsoft Teams messages between Telles and Roberta Lee-Kennet. On Aug. 8, Telles learned of the request. On Aug. 12, Google Maps images of German’s neighborhood began appearing on Telles’ phone. Three days later, the device showed screenshots of vehicles taken near German’s neighborhood.
“That’s when Mr. Telles, on Sept. 1, receives notification that the county is getting ready to release all of that, all of those documents that were subject to the public records request. He’s notified, and Ms. Kinnett is notified on Sept. 1 of 2022, and the murder is on the very next day,” Weckerly said.
On Sept. 2, the day of German’s killing, Telles left his residence at 9:12 a.m. Weckerly said that Telles arrived in German’s neighborhood at 10:26 a.m., proceeded on foot to German’s home. German was killed around 11:18 a.m. During that time, a message from Telles’ wife asking, “Where are you?” was found on her Apple Watch.
Weckerly then said Telles was back in his own neighborhood by 11:51 a.m., got in a different car, and went to the gym by 12:09 p.m.
She recounted via text messages that Roberta Lee-Kennett was concerned about the similarity between Telles’ SUV and the suspect’s as shown in police-released images. Weckerly then goes over the definition of first-degree murder, showing how German’s killing met those requirements, including that of premeditation.
“Mr. Telles isn’t disagreeing that this is a case of first-degree murder. He’s just saying that it was a Compass Realty assassin who did it,” Weckerly said.
Weckerly told the jury that blood would not be in the SUV because Telles had to walk through rocks to get back to his vehicle and that the crime scene was not particularly bloody. She then discusses shoes found in Telles’ residence.
“They weren’t planted,” she said. “They were hidden.”
Weckerly detailed everyone Telles’ claimed he was wronged by: employees in his office, the County, Compass Realty, District Attorney Steve Wolfson, patrol officers, Las Vegas Metropolitan police, an “illusory” phone hacker, DNA analysts, and German.
“Or maybe – maybe it’s not that he was wronged,” Weckerly said. “Maybe he’s the one in the wrong.”
With that, just before 11:15 a.m., the court was sent to recess, reconvening just before 11:30 a.m. for defense attorney Robert Draskovich to begin his closing arguments.
Draskovich began by defining proof beyond a reasonable doubt. He said very few people have the means to prove their innocence, adding that Telles had been in custody for two years and wanted to tell the jury his story.
He made the point that Jeff German’s DNA was not found anywhere but the scene of the murder, and no blood or DNA evidence was found in Telles’ home, vehicles, or clothing. Draskovich argued that no one contradicted Telles’ recollection of events, and no one saw Telles at the crime scene. The defense attorney argued that if Telles had killed German, there “would be evidence.”
Draskovich called to a lack of surveillance video of Telles leaving his house, and also the lack of body-worn camera video, which was overwritten.
“Is that indication of some wide-ranging conspiracy and I’m not going to stand before you today and necessarily argue that there was, but what that shows is that Metro makes mistakes,” Draskovich said. “Metro officers, Metro detectives are human.”
Draskovich asked the jury what was missing from the evidence, going on to say that the prosecution did not prove that the documented phone use and behavior on the day of German’s death was any different than his usual conduct. He told the jury that they did not get to compare the message found on Telles’ wife’s Apple Watch to the messages on Telles’ phone.
The defense attorney said that someone with access to Telles’ Google account could access any of his devices. He drew attention to a lack of information on who “bagged” or preserved German’s hands, on which Telles’ DNA was found.
Draskovich then showed video of an SUV driving on camera. He said the driver’s profile showed a person with hair, while Telles is bald. The attorney then readdressed Compass Realty, saying that LVMPD detectives were given evidence by Detective Jappe immediately implicating Telles in the homicide.
“It’s the State’s burden and the State’s burden alone to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Draskovich said.
Defense attorney Chris Hamner was next to rebut Draskovich’s closing argument. He began speaking to the jury just after noon. He thanked the jury for their patience.
“The evidence is absolutely clear the defendant murdered Jeff German,” Hamner said.
Hamner said that the murder occurred because German was writing another article about Telles and his relationship with Roberta Lee-Kennet that would perhaps endanger his marriage.
“German had taken everything from him, everything that he worked for,” Hamner said. “He worked his way up through law school. He got himself elected, and this guy took it all from him.”
The prosecutor said that it’s hard to plan the perfect murder and that Telles is a smart person but that he left breadcrumbs.
“His testimony was incredible and not in a good way,” Hamner said.
The attorney addressed Telles’ claims of a growing conspiracy involving Compass Realty, Adam Fenn, Cynthia Sauerland, the so-called “Old Guard” at the Public Administrator’s office, including Rita Reid, Aleisha Goodwin, Detectives Jappe, Mogg, and Gatus, the Metro DNA lab, various unnamed police officers, and even District Attorney Steve Wolfson.
“It didn’t make sense,” Hamner said, adding that when allegations are made about businesses, and government workers, the public deserves answers. Hamner said those individuals would have had to conspire to kill a person, not Telles, but a reporter, to frame him for murder.
“Does that make sense?” Hamner said. “Where is the evidence to support that?”
Hamner said that Telles “is not a US Senator” but rather a public administrator supervising an office of eight people and that the story of a vast conspiracy speaks more to Telles’ view of himself than of reality. He called Telles a lame duck who would have been out of office in three months.
He said German’s fifth article was going to be about his relationship with Lee-Kennet, “the salacious stuff,” according to Hamner. The attorney then went through the allegations that Telles planned out the killing of German and how the “amateur” killer left digital breadcrumbs that he would have had no idea that investigators could obtain. Hamner draws attention to the lack of location data in August, saying that Telles had turned off location data on his phone when he began planning to kill German.
“Telles would like you to believe this was an assassin with combat training,” Hamner said. “The State would submit to you you don’t need combat training to stab people.”
Hamner continued to differentiate the difference between a trained assassin and the amateur killed, allegedly Telles.
“What did we learn? What prompts the neighbors to worry about Jeff? It’s the garage door,” Hamner said. “The hitman – the assassin – shuts that garage door but not an amateur like Mr. Telles because in the panic of the moment, he’s like, ‘I’ve got to get out of here.’”
He showed an image from inside the bag allegedly used during the murder. Draskovich had previously said sawdust was found in that bag, but the State showed a closer image that looked like, instead of sawdust, the material was part of the killer’s cut-up hat. Hamner said he believed Telles cut up his hat and put it back in the bag before putting it in the plastic bag it was found inside.
The attorney drew attention to Telles’ history of quick responses to messages outside of the time that German was killed but did not respond to his wife during the time of the reporter’s death. He asked the jury to remember Telles’ face when he was first shown the Apple Watch images.
He addressed the allegations that Detective Jappe interfered with the investigation, saying that the jury was shown no evidence of that. He added that Jappe had exonerated Telles in the investigation into corruption at the Public Administrator’s office. Hamner then said that Telles might have been the prosecution’s best witness.
“He just wanted to regale you with all of his achievements as a public administrator,” Hamner said.
Hamner told the jury that there was a great significance to the admission from Telles that he had lied to German about his affair with Lee-Kennet, saying there was “more at stake.”
“Really, he’s the only person who wants German dead,” Hamner said.
According to Hamner, Telles was selective in what evidence had been compromised versus what had been properly collected. The attorney said Telles’ phrasing on the stand was not that he didn’t do it but that he would like to think he didn’t.
He readdressed the significance of the “Where are you?” Apple Watch message, saying that Telles was unable to answer the text because he was “murdering German,” that Telles couldn’t leave the message on his phone because it would reveal that his wife was looking for him, and that, given the state of their relationship, he would have answered the message.
Wrapping up the closing argument, Hamner asked the jury that if officials from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department were out to get Telles, why did they not simply let him die in the tub during his suicide attempt? Why was the head conspirator, Detective Jappe, the one who saved Telles’ life?
Finally, Hamner played a clip from an interview with German where Telles said that people can just do whatever they want. Hamner asked the jury to hold Telles accountable for murdering German.
With that, just after 1 p.m., the jury was sent to deliberate on the evidence and to determine their verdict in the murder trial of Robert Telles.
Who is Robert Telles?
Robert Telles is a lawyer and former public official with Clark County. According to the county, Telles has lived in the area for at least 20 years. He was the focus of several investigative stories by Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German.
Telles graduated from UNLV’s Boyd School of Law in 2014. One year later he founded Accolade Law, which was located on West Charleston Boulevard between Rancho Drive and Valley View Boulevard and focused on estate planning and probate.
In 2018, Telles first ran for Clark County public administrator as a Democrat. He claimed victory over Republican candidate Thomas Fougere and took office in January 2019 to serve a four-year term, which ended on Jan. 2, 2023. Telles ran for re-election, losing to fellow Democrat Rita Reid.
His campaign was mired in controversy surrounding stories written by the Review-Journal, specifically German, who uncovered claims of bullying and retaliation within his office.
Who was Jeff German?
Jeff German had been an investigative reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal since 2010 after more than two decades at the Las Vegas Sun, where he was a columnist and reporter who covered courts, politics, labor, government, and organized crime.
Glenn Cook, the Review-Journal’s executive editor, said German was known to break big stories and develop “impactful investigations across every part of Southern Nevada life.”
German had published several stories about Telles’ office, saying it was in “turmoil” in the months leading up to his stabbing death on Labor Day weekend of 2022. German was found with seven stab wounds, including ones to his neck and torso, according to police documents.
