LAS VEGAS — The trial of a Las Vegas-area politician accused of killing an investigative journalist who wrote a story critical of him will turn its attention to Nevada on Monday, when jury selection is set to begin in the case that has stunned the Sin City and the journalism community.
“Everything has been turned upside down,” veteran Las Vegas lawyer Tom Pitaro said of the death of reporter Jeff German, who for 44 years delved into confidential sources in the city of Las Vegas, the Las Vegas government and the Las Vegas courts.
Pitaro also supervised Robert Telles, the public servant accused of killing German, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas law school about a decade ago.
“When you think about this murder of a respected journalist who holds public office, I think people are shocked and wondering how this could have happened,” Pitaro said.
The killing, which took place over Labor Day weekend in 2022, attracted widespread attention, making Jarman, 69, the only journalist killed in the United States among at least 67 media workers killed around the world that year, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
A Milwaukee native, German was widely respected for his coverage of the courts, organized crime, government corruption, political scandals and mass shootings, first for the Las Vegas Sun and then the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Prosecutors say the motive for the killing was an article he wrote in early 2022 about Tellez and the turbulent county office.
German was found slashed and stabbed to death in the backyard of her home, and Telles is accused in a criminal complaint of “lying in wait” for German to come outside.
Telles, 47, was arrested a few days later after police released video of a man wearing an orange work shirt, a wide-brimmed straw hat and carrying a shoulder bag walking toward Jarman’s home. Police also released images of the same distinctive maroon SUV that a Review-Journal photographer saw Telles washing cars outside the home a few days after the murder.
Telles grew up in El Paso, Texas, and lived in Colorado before moving to Las Vegas. He became an attorney in 2015 and ran for Clark County Commissioner of Property in 2018 as a Democrat. After his arrest, he lost his elected office and had his law license suspended.
Former Clark County Executive Robert Tellez argues in court during a bond hearing in Las Vegas on Oct. 18, 2023. KM Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images file
He has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and could face life in prison if convicted. He remains in custody while he prepares to face a jury.
“He’s been looking forward to trial,” Telles’ lawyer, Robert Draskovich, said ahead of Monday’s hearing. “He’s eager to tell his story.”
More than 100 potential jurors have filled out questionnaires asking what they have heard about Germán’s murder and Tellez’s arrest. Interviewing and selecting the 12 jurors and several alternates could take several days. Testimony is expected to take less than two weeks. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.
But first, Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt is scheduled to hear a final request Monday to dismiss the case against Tellez and halt the trial.
In court filings, Telles claims that police unlawfully detained him before his arrest, that officer body camera footage of the traffic stop that led to his arrest was wrongfully deleted, and that blood tests taken at the hospital after his arrest and treatment for cuts on his wrists that Telles says were self-inflicted were not included as evidence.
While Telles has hired and fired lawyers and represented herself, Leavitt has refused other requests to have the lawsuit dismissed. Telles has argued that Leavitt is biased against her and has twice tried to remove her from the case.
Jarman’s relatives have not spoken publicly about the killing, and family spokesman and friend George McCabe said Friday the family would not comment on the trial.
Prosecutors say they have strong evidence, including DNA believed to be Telles’s found under German’s fingernails and pieces of a straw hat and shoe found in Telles’ home that resemble those worn by a man seen on video outside German’s house.
Telles had hoped the trial would begin quickly, but it has been delayed in part by a legal battle the Review-Journal filed in the state Supreme Court to prevent the release of classified information stored on German’s cellphone and computers.
The paper argued that the names and unpublished materials are protected from disclosure by the First Amendment and Nevada state law. Police argued that their investigation is not complete until they have searched devices that could be evidence. The court gave the paper, its lawyers and consultants time to first review the files.
Lawyers for the Review-Journal told the judge last week that the review process would be completed in time to turn over the records to police, prosecutors and Telles’ lawyers before jury selection begins.
Telles also wants a ruling that bars Leavitt from testifying at trial about a hostile work environment and discrimination lawsuit filed in federal court against Telles and Clark County by four women who worked in his office.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has collected records of 17 journalists and media workers killed in the United States since 1992, with 15 of those deaths known to be work-related.
“Thankfully, murders of journalists are extremely rare in the United States,” said Katherine Jacobsen, a program coordinator for the organization. “To have your life attacked in your own backyard is so extraordinary that it’s really hard to prepare for such a situation.”
Gabe Rotman of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in Washington, D.C., agreed that murders are rare, but said journalists in the U.S. can face threats from protesters and law enforcement when covering civil unrest or violence.
“Journalists being able to do their jobs freely and safely is essential for the public to hold public officials accountable,” Rotman said. “The most severe way to shut down the public’s eyes is to threaten the lives of journalists doing their jobs. That cannot happen.”
