How chilling leads led to Robert Telles’ arrest for stabbing a journalist in Las Vegas through bloodied shoes to tweets

A SERIES of chilling leads linked a Las Vegas politician to the death of a journalist who was reporting in condemnation of claims about his “toxic work environment.”

Clark County Officer-Elect Robert Telles, 45, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murder days after the brutal killing of reporter Jeff German.

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Telles, who was a Las Vegas public administrator, lost his re-election in June after German published a series of condemning allegations against the politician.

The Review-Journal reporter, 69, was found stabbed to death outside his home on Saturday morning while he was writing a follow-up on Telles.

Evidence against the public trustee began to mount up when investigators described a vehicle they believed was linked to German’s death.

Police discovered surveillance footage of a confrontation the reporter faced on Friday in which they believe he was killed.

Investigators said the video showed the killer walking away from the scene and returning six minutes later in a maroon GMC Yukon Denali, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

The tipsters compared the vehicle’s description to a chilling photo of Telles standing in his driveway in front of what appeared to be the same car.

This key clue led to other haunting discoveries that further implicated Telles in the case.

CHILLING NOTES

Police obtained a search warrant to investigate Telles’ home on Wednesday.

During the search, investigators found clothing that matched the suspect’s alleged clothing, police said.

“As you can see, there is evident blood on the shoes and the shoes were likely cut in an attempt to destroy evidence,” Capt Dori Koren said.

The hat was also cut similar to the shoes.

“One of the most important aspects of this investigation was waiting for the DNA results, and we received positive DNA results showing Robert Telles’ DNA at the crime scene,” Koren said.

DNA EVIDENCE

Police found that Telles’ DNA matched samples found under German’s fingernails.

After discovering the haunting evidence, police made plans to safely pick up Telles without incident.

Police arrived at Telle’s home in tactical gear before the officer-elect was wheeled out on a stretcher, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Koren said the arrest was successful, but Telles sustained minor self-inflicted wounds.

DANGEROUS FEUD

Telles, who was an elected Democrat in 2018, lost re-election in June after German published a series of condemning investigative stories.

The journalist had uncovered allegations that Telles created a hostile work environment and also had an “inappropriate relationship” with an employee.

Telles and the employee denied the claims.

The elected official posted several tweets mocking Deutsch while the reporter worked on the investigative articles.

“I look forward to lying slander #4 by @JGermanRJ #onetrickpony. I think he’s mad that I didn’t crawl into a hole and die,” Telles said tweeted.

German had been working on a follow-up story about Telles the week of his death.

COMMUNITY SPEAKS

A private service for German was held on Wednesday and his family released a statement the following day.

“Jeff was a loving and devoted brother, uncle and friend who devoted his life to his work exposing wrongdoing in Las Vegas and beyond,” the statement said.

“Jeff is committed to seeking justice for others and would appreciate the hard work of local police and journalists in the pursuit of his killer.

“We look forward to justice being served in this case.”

The Editor-in-Chief of the Review-Journal also released a statement on German’s agonizing death and its implications for press freedom.

“The arrest of Robert Telles is a tremendous relief and outrage to the Review Journal’s editorial board,” said Executive Editor Glenn Cook.

“We are relieved that Telles is in custody and appalled that a colleague appeared to have been killed for reporting on an elected official.

“We thank the Las Vegas Police Department for their urgency and hard work and for immediately recognizing the horrifying significance of Jeff’s murder.

“Now hopefully the Review-Journal, the German family and Jeff’s many friends can begin to mourn and honor a great man and a brave reporter.”