Arraignment hearing for official charged in journalist murder
An arraignment hearing begins for a Las Vegas official charged in the murder of a journalist.
A Las Vegas attorney weighed in as the start of the trial of the former Las Vegas-area politician accused of killing an investigative journalist began on Monday with jury selection.
Robert Telles, a former Democrat Clark County administrator of estates, has remained jailed since his arrest in September 2022, days after Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German was found slashed and stabbed to death outside his home over Labor Day weekend.
Marc Randazza, a Las Vegas attorney, spoke to Fox News Digital and said that while he did not know Telles personally, he sensed something was off.
"I would not claim to know Telles, but I have been to dinner parties where he was also a guest," Randazza said. "Never really sensed that he was capable of such a thing, although I always found him a bit odd. But in a lot of ways, one has to be a bit odd to be ‘normal' in Las Vegas, something I say with pride."
Former Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles is shown during a hearing at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Oct. 18, 2023. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Robert Telles washes his car outside his Las Vegas home on Sept. 6, 2022. (Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
German, 69, was found slashed and stabbed to death in a side yard outside his home, where Telles is accused in a criminal complaint of "lying in wait" for German to come outside.
Prosecutors say articles that German wrote in early 2022 about Telles and a county office in turmoil were a motive for the killing.
Randazza said this case has an interesting angle involving the First Amendment, which he says is the firm’s primary interest in the matter and which really is the only part of it that has far-reaching implications beyond mere fascination with true crime.
"As part of the investigation and prosecution, the Las Vegas Metro Police Department obtained German's journalistic papers and notes, including those on his cellphone. The Las Vegas Review-Journal, the reporter's employer, sought to prevent the police and the prosecution from reviewing his devices and papers, citing Nevada's news shield statute," Randazza said.
"Journalists generally have a privilege against the disclosure of their papers, which might also include information about their sources for information, under the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of the press. The Nevada Supreme Court found that the privilege does not die with the reporter and protected the information from direct disclosure to the government. Ultimately, the Review-Journal and the prosecution reached a deal where German's devices could be reviewed by a third party to screen confidential information."
Telles became a lawyer in 2015 and ran as a Democrat in 2018 to become Clark County administrator of estates. He lost his elected position after his arrest and his law license was suspended. He has pleaded not guilty to open murder and could face life in prison if convicted. He has remained jailed while preparing to face a jury.
NEVADA JUDGE POSTPONES TRIAL OF FORMER LAS VEGAS OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF KILLING JOURNALIST
Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles, right, talks to Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German on May 11, 2022. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
Randazza criticized Telles' choice to originally represent himself.
"He has waffled between being represented and representing himself. Representing himself was one of the most foolish things I’ve ever seen someone do in court, but it is his constitutional right. However, it appears that he has retained counsel again," Randazza said.
Robert Draskovich, Telles' defense attorney, said that Telles has "been looking forward to trial and wants to tell his story," the Associated Press reported.
Prosecutors say they have strong evidence, including DNA believed to be from Telles found beneath German’s fingernails and cut-up pieces of a straw hat and shoes found at Telles' house that resembled those worn by the person seen on video outside German's home.
However, Randazza again criticized Telles' approach and his defense strategy.
"His ‘I didn’t do it’ defense seems like a poor strategy. There are other defenses other than ‘Must be some other guy who looked like me and who had all this evidence in his house,’" Randazza said.
FORMER VEGAS OFFICIAL WHO ALLEGEDLY SLAYED AN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST LOSES BID TO GET NEW JUDGE
Robert Telles (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service)
In a court filing, Telles maintains he was illegally detained by police before his arrest, officer body-worn camera video of the traffic stop during which he was taken into custody was improperly deleted, and hospital blood tests taken after his arrest and treatment for what he has called self-inflicted slash wounds to his wrists were not included as evidence in his case.
Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt rejected other requests to dismiss the case, while Telles hired and fired attorneys and served as his own defense lawyer. Telles twice tried to have Leavitt removed from his case, arguing she was biased against him.
"He seems to believe that Judge Leavitt is biased against him and has tried to get [her] recused. This is rarely a strong play, and it has not worked thus far. For what it's worth, I think that when it comes to a judge with integrity, you can probably find equals with Leavitt, but you’re not going to find anyone who outranks her in the integrity competition," Randazza said.
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Telles wanted his trial to occur quickly, but progress was delayed in part by a legal battle the Review-Journal took to the state Supreme Court to protect public disclosure of confidential sources on German’s cellphone and computers. The newspaper argued that names and unpublished material were protected from disclosure by the First Amendment and Nevada state law.
Police argued their investigation would not be complete until the devices were searched for possible evidence. The court gave the newspaper, its lawyers and consultants time to review the files first.
Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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