A former Las Vegas-area elected official will have to serve at least 28 years in prison before he's eligible for parole.
Robert Telles, a former Clark County public administrator, was found guilty in August of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon in the September 2022 killing of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German.
The jury sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years for stabbing the investigative journalist who published a series of articles that exposed misconduct during Telles' time in office.
During the sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Judge Michelle Leavitt added eight years to Telles' sentence.
If he was already sentenced, why was he back in court?
The charges against Telles included enhancements — one because German was older than 60, one for the use of a deadly weapon and another for "lying in wait," as evidence in the case suggested Telles had planned the attack on German and lured the journalist outside his house before stabbing him to death.
Because of those circumstances, Judge Leavitt decided to extend Telles' minimum time behind bars. She could have added one to eight more years to his minimum sentence and opted to add eight years.
RELATED STORY | Former Las Vegas politician Robert Telles found guilty in murder of journalist
Prosecutors and Telles' attorney, Robert Draskovich, had a final chance to address the court before Leavitt announced her decision. German's brother Jay also spoke about the impact of the case on his family.
"We lost a brother, an uncle, a friend, a leader," Jay German said.
"We're still in shock and it's been two years. It's going to take a long time to recover from this."
Telles has maintained his innocence since he was arrested and, when he testified in his trial, claimed German's murder was the result of a conspiracy. When he addressed the court on Wednesday, he again claimed the state had got the wrong guy.
"I understand the desire to seek justice and to have somebody accountable for this, but I did not kill Mr. German, and unfortunately, the people who should be brought to justice… the chances of that happening now are slim to none," Telles said.
Since the former public administrator has already spent two years in jail, he could be eligible for parole in 26 years. However, if parole is denied, he still faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. He was also ordered to pay $23,347.71 in restitution to German's family.
RELATED STORY | Court orders new hearing for Adnan Syed in ‘Serial’ murder case
More than two years ago, workers at the Clark County public administrator's office tipped off German in private about alleged turmoil at their workplace under Telles' leadership.
It was the subject of a series of articles German published, starting with one in May 2022 titled, "County office in turmoil with secret video and claims of bullying, hostility."
In it, German wrote:
"A half-dozen current and former employees interviewed by the Review-Journal are alleging the hostile work environment was fueled by the elected administrator of the office, Robert Telles."
In June 2022, Telles lost his re-election bid for public administrator. A few months later, in September 2022, German was found stabbed to death at his home.
Days later, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department brought Telles in for questioning and searched his home. Authorities collected enough evidence to arrest Telles for German's murder.
Telles hired and fired three lawyers and was even representing himself for some time before hiring well-known criminal defense attorney Robert Draskovich in February of 2024.
The trial began on Aug. 12 with two weeks of testimony from those who knew German, worked with Telles, investigated the case and many others.
This story was originally published on Scripps News Las Vegas.
