LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The high-profile murder trial of a former Las Vegas politician accused of killing an investigative journalist continues Thursday as the defendant is expected to retake the stand to deliver testimony.
Former Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles spoke for just over 90 minutes on Thursday, the bulk of his testimony concerning his perception of wrongdoing involving estates managed by his office. He also told the jury that he had been framed for the killing of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German, saying that he believed the killer knew what they were doing, pointing to the fact that he was not combat-trained
For his part, defense attorney Robert Draskovich did not ask Telles any questions during his testimony Thursday, as the former politician testified by narrative, meaning he simply shared his story.
Draskovich didn’t say why the decision was made for Telles to testify by narrative. However, 8 News Now Investigators sources said it could happen when a defense attorney feels uncomfortable or concerned about that defendant’s testimony.
Court began just before 10:45 a.m. on Thursday, with Telles retaking the stand, immediately calling for evidence that had apparently not been submitted. Telles then called for a photo of the suspected killer’s pants. After a long delay, he compared the jeans taken into evidence to the photo of the suspect, saying they did not match. Telles then complained about the temperature in the room when he was detained, saying he spent all day cold in a paper suit.
The defendant said the media surrounded his house. As Defense attorney Robert Draskovich showed photos of Telles’ home after the police search, Telles began sobbing on the stand.
Robert Telles tears up as he talks about the police searching his home. 
Photos taken inside Robert Telles’ home after the police search for evidence. 
Photos taken inside Robert Telles’ home after the police search for evidence. 
Photos taken inside Robert Telles’ home after the police search for evidence. 
Photos taken inside Robert Telles’ home after the police search for evidence. 
Photos taken inside Robert Telles’ home after the police search for evidence.
He recounted his suicide attempt and the appearance of Detective Derek Jappe in the ambulance en route to the hospital, he said, to obtain a confession. He then told the jury that he was in jail and did not “have Photoshop” to modify images. Telles then recounted the day of Jeff German’s murder, saying he didn’t leave his home until 9 a.m., and recapped his Tweets about German’s reporting.
Telles then stood on the stand, saying, “I wear lifts in my shoes. Call it a vanity thing.” He claimed he could not put a lift in a name-brand show, explaining why he never wore name-brand shoes at the office. Telles described himself as 6’5″ tall.
He then said that he did not cut up a shoe and did not kill Jeff German, among other accusations levied against him.
“I did not cut up a shoe and hide it under my couch,” Telles said. “I did not cut up a hat and put it in an open drawer of my toolbox. I did not kill Mr. German. So, I did not take a bag with my children’s basketball and football out of the bin and use it during the commission of a murder.”
When the defendant attempted to testify to his observations regarding the killer, Judge Michelle Leavitt reminded him that he couldn’t offer opinion on the stand. Telles then attempted to justify his documented searches for German and Telles as a search engine optimization play.
Telles mentioned DNA evidence, saying, “I had done my own research on cases and I had found there are actually cases where where even DNA evidence had been planted.”
He said he didn’t “know why anyone would do that,” regarding numerous photos of German’s home and street found on Telles’ device. He said he didn’t know German’s address and didn’t do a Google Maps search.
Telles detailed his side of the story on the day on Sept. 2, 2022, when German was killed. He went one by one through the text messages and emails documented to have been received by his idle phone during the murder. “I didn’t need to reply to these,” he said.
“You should have no doubt that I had my phone on me. I say I had it all day – they may try to argue otherwise,” Telles told the jury.
“I didn’t kill Mr. German,” Telles said as his testimony wrapped. Ahead of State attorney Chris Hamner’s cross-examination of Telles, the court went to a 15-minute recess just after 11:30 a.m.
Just after 12:20 p.m., Defense attorney Robert Draskovich and prosecutor Chris Hamner addressed Judge Michelle Leavitt regarding messages to be admitted as evidence without the jury present. Hamner told the judge that the messages obtained through Microsoft Teams were between Telles and Roberta Lee-Kennett. Telles claimed that the evidence was not available to him at the time of Jeff German’s murder. Hamner told the judge that the Microsoft Teams messages were romantic in nature and that he wanted them admitted. The court was placed on recess just after 12:30 p.m.
Cross-Examination on Robert Telles
State attorney Chris Hamner showed Telles the image of the suspect in German’s murder, asking if he acknowledged that that person was the killer. He confirmed. Telles said he believed that the killing was a “professional hit” by an “assassin.” Hamner asked if he believed the orange costume and wide-brimmed hat would draw attention. Telles said yes and believed that was the “assassin’s” point.
Telles said he believed the killer murdered German and then revisited the scene in his vehicle purposely to be seen. Hamner then called for photos of the suspect’s Denali, detailing the spokes on the rims. The image of Telles’ rims was then shown. Telles admits that they have similar but “not the same” rims. Hamner then draws attention to the passenger-side visor being down in both Telles’ and the suspect vehicle.
Hamner then asked if it was Telles’ presupposition that the “professional hitman in the funny hat pulled the visor down.” Telles said it was potentially part of a police conspiracy.
“How many officers are part of the conspiracy?” Hamner asked. Telles said he did not know.
Hamner then referenced DNA evidence, and Telles’ DNA being found under German’s fingernails. Telles said it was also part of the conspiracy.
“Oh, the DNA lab is part of it too?” Hamner pressed.
Telles then was asked about the shoes found at his home. He elaborated on the conspiracy he said he suspected was orchestrated by police, saying that police are willing to “plug holes” in cases that are lacking evidence. He said Detective Jappe was part of the conspiracy.
Telles called the action of chopping up a shoe and putting it under a couch “strange.” Hamner asked if it made sense that police wanted to frame Telles but did not place the murder weapon in his house. Telles said that it did. Hamner then asked about Telles’ decision to wash his cars after hearing of German’s murder, questioning why he would make that decision if it would look like he could be possibly covering up evidence.
“Washing things can make evidence go away? Correct?” Hamner asked.
“Could it possibly? Yes,” Telles replied.
Hamner then questioned Telles regarding Google Street View images found on Telles’ phone, showing that the images found were of the same location where German’s body was found.
“That is very strange,” Telles said.
Hamner asked if it was convenient that when evidence found on his phone helped his case, it was legitimately found, but when it was harmful, Telles believed it was planted. Hamner then pressed Telles on the software, which was shown in earlier evidentiary photos, displaying Jeff German’s address and vehicle information. Hamner asks if the image is from his desk. He confirms that it “probably is.”
Hamner then discussed the lack of outgoing messages from his phone during the window of time that Jeff German was killed on Sept. 2, 2022.
“You never reported that your phone was hacked or stolen or that your house was broken into?”
Telles was then asked if Rita Reid was part of the conspiracy to frame him for the murder of Jeff German. He said he couldn’t rule it out. Hamner asked if Aleisha Goodwin was part of the conspiracy. Again, he said that it couldn’t be ruled out. He went through other names from the Public Administrator’s office and Compass Realty, asking if they were also involved.
“The best way to take me down would be to frame me for killing Mr. German,” Telles said.
Hamner then asked if Compass Realty had successfully backed a candidate in Rita Reid, why they couldn’t have waited three months for him to leave office and instead kill Jeff German to frame him. He also asked why they wouldn’t have killed Telles if the realty company hated him so much. Telles said it would have made no sense to kill him.
Hamner asked how Compass Realty broke into his home to plant evidence. Telles replied that he didn’t know. Hamner followed up by asking how they placed images in his phone. Telles replied that he didn’t know that either.
The prosecution asked about his previous interview with German and if he was truthful. Telles admitted that he had lied about his relationship with Roberta Lee-Kennett, saying that they did have an affair.
Telles admitted that he was upset when German’s article was published. Hamner then showed a text message sent from Telles to German that said, “I don’t know what to say. I told you about how much this [has] all impacted me. You heard from employees who are being harassed by these people. Provided you [proof] that I was doing my best to actually smooth things over after I had to make hard decisions. Still, you wrote an article that makes it sound like I’m the guilty one. That was not fair or balanced.”
Telles continued to admit that he was quite upset by German’s article. Telles is asked if Jeff German hadn’t written those articles if he would have won the primary race for Clark County Public Administrator. He said he believed he would have. He said he believed the employees got Jeff German to publicly tear him down and that German agreed to do it. Telles said he disliked German but would not admit to hating him.
Hamner then asked about the Freedom of Information Act request of the Microsoft Teams records of conversations between Telles and Lee-Kennett. Telles said he believed German was digging and looking for a story but that the possibility of another story did not concern him. Hamner details the Aug. 8 notification that German’s request would be fulfilled, four days before Google Maps images of the investigative reporter’s home started appearing on Telles’ phone.
With that, the court was sent to a 15-minute recess after nearly two hours of intense cross-examination. Court reconvened just after 3:30 p.m., with Telles still on the stand and Hamner ready to continue cross-examination.
Hamner again asked how he was feeling about Jeff German’s articles. He said he didn’t feel any particular way. Text messages were then shown around the time of the primary election.
“Unfortunately, too many people bought the lies,” Telles said in the text messages, admitting that the lies in question were related to German’s articles. Other text messages show that Telles was still concerned about German obtaining information for his investigative pieces. He also expressed concern in those text messages that the reporter’s pieces could jeopardize his future employment, saying he may not have any job prospects after his tenure as Clark County Public Administrator.
Hamner asked Telles if, on Sept. 1, he had received information that German’s public records request would be fulfilled and that on Sept. 2, the investigative reporter was dead. Telles agreed.
The prosecutor asked Telles what part Detective Jappe played in the alleged conspiracy. Telles detailed that he believed Jappe surveilled him. Telles was then asked why Jappe continued the investigation into Compass Realty if the “job was done.” Telles claimed that Jappe didn’t do a full investigation, although Hamner clarified that he had been investigating for 11 months.
Telles was then asked about his relationship with Zackary Schilling. Evidence is shown indicating that despite the disagreement between the two parties, they continued working together.
Hamner then showed an image of a message on Telles’ wife’s Apple Watch that did not exist on Telles’ phone, asking, “Where are you?” Telles testified that he did not delete a message. The message shown was sent on Sept. 2, 2022, the day of Jeff German’s murder, at 10:36 a.m. Telles then said he was “on a walk.” Hamner reminded the jury that at 10:30 a.m., a vehicle matching the description of Telles’ Denali was seen in German’s neighborhood.
No further questions were asked to Telles on Thursday, and the court was sent to recess for the day. The trial will continue Friday at 9:30 a.m.
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.