A neighborhood elected official acquired court-appointed attorneys throughout his arraignment on Tuesday within the stabbing demise of a Las Vegas investigative journalist who wrote articles important of him and his managerial conduct.
Robert Richard Telles, the Clark County public administrator, stood in court docket with shackles on his wrists, waist and ankles — however not with bandages on his forearms — whereas a Las Vegas decide informed him he was charged with the "illegal, mindless and heinous homicide" on Sept. 2 of veteran Las Vegas Evaluate-Journal employees author Jeff German.
Telles spoke solely to acknowledge that he understood the cost. He was not requested to enter a plea. Las Vegas magistrate Professional Tem William Jansen scheduled an Oct. 26 preliminary listening to of proof to find out if Telles ought to stand trial in state court docket. A plea can be entered at the moment.
Clark County District Lawyer Steve Wolfson has stated he'll decide in coming weeks whether or not Telles, 45, will face the demise penalty. German was 69, and prosecutors added an age enhancement to the cost in opposition to Telles.
Edward Kane, a veteran deputy Clark County public defender, informed Jansen that Telles wouldn't instantly search bail and that his workplace would decide whether or not Telles can afford his personal lawyer. The decide let Telles' earlier lawyer, Travis Shetler, withdraw from the case.
Kane and colleague David Lopez-Negrete declined to remark outdoors of court docket.
Wolfson stated after the listening to that he is in search of a court docket order to take away Telles from his elected place heading the county workplace that handles the belongings of people that die with no will or household contacts. Such court docket motion may take a number of weeks.
Wolfson stated Telles, who has been jailed since Sept. 7, is "unable to carry out his duties." Police stated Telles was hospitalized briefly after his arrest for therapy of "self-inflicted" accidents to his arms.
Telles' time period in workplace expires Dec. 31, however Clark County officers stated he was been banned from county places of work or property pending a evaluate of his place as an elected official.
Telles is accused in a prison criticism of "mendacity in wait" for German, who authorities say was stabbed seven occasions. German lived alone, and his physique was discovered the next day. The Clark County coroner dominated his demise a murder.
Telles was arrested a number of days later, after police requested for assist throughout the Labor Day weekend to establish an individual seen carrying an orange work shirt and a wide-brim straw hat toting a shoulder bag and strolling towards German's residence on the morning of Sept. 2. Police additionally launched photos of a particular SUV seen close to German's residence that was pushed by an individual carrying an orange shirt.
A Evaluate-Journal photographer snapped images Sept. 6 of Telles washing the identical sort of auto in his driveway.
Police allege that Telles shut off his cellphone and waited in a automobile outdoors German's residence till the assault. It was characterised as a deliberate response to articles that German wrote about "turmoil and inside dissension" in Telles' workplace.
Telles misplaced his main bid for reelection in June after articles in Could aired claims of administrative bullying, favoritism and Telles' relationship with a subordinate staffer. County lawmakers appointed a advisor to deal with complaints about management in his workplace.
German was broadly revered for his tenacity, and his colleagues stated he was engaged on follow-up experiences about Telles and the general public administrator's workplace when he was killed.
"The revealed articles ... ruined (Telles') political profession, probably his marriage, and this was him lashing out on the trigger," Chief Deputy Clark County District Lawyer Richard Scow informed a decide on Sept. 8.
That decide, Las Vegas magistrate Elana Lee Graham, referred to as the police report detailing the assault "chilling" and stated it described German "preventing for his life." She spoke of obvious protection wounds on German's arms and stated DNA believed to be from Telles was discovered beneath German's fingernails.
Police stated a search warrant turned up gadgets at Telles' residence together with blood-stained sneakers and a straw hat that had been lower into items. Police stated they didn't instantly discover the weapon used to kill German.
Though police stated safety video confirmed Telles close to German's residence, Wolfson stated authorities do not need video exhibiting the assault.
The Nevada Press Affiliation introduced that German shall be inducted this Saturday into the Nevada Newspaper Corridor of Fame.
German joined the Evaluate-Journal in 2010 after greater than 20 years on the rival Las Vegas Solar, the place he was a columnist and reporter masking courts, politics, labor, authorities and arranged crime.
Telles grew up in El Paso, Texas, and lived in Colorado earlier than transferring to Las Vegas. He labored as a heating and air con technician and graduated in 2014 from regulation college on the College of Nevada, Las Vegas. He practiced probate and property regulation earlier than he was elected public administrator in 2018, changing a three-term predecessor.
Courtroom and police data present that Robert Telles was arrested at residence in Las Vegas in February 2020. He was accused of grabbing his spouse in a "'bear-hug' place" and of resisting efforts by two law enforcement officials to handcuff him. Throughout his arrest, Telles was recorded on police body-worn cameras acknowledging that he had been consuming alcohol and repeatedly figuring out himself as a public official.
The case was dismissed and closed in March 2021 after Telles paid a $418 high-quality, attended counseling and stayed out of bother.
In a jailhouse interview on Friday with the Evaluate-Journal, Telles acknowledged "errors" together with alcohol abuse and his arrest, however denied hurting his spouse or youngsters. He refused to reply questions on German's killing.