Ex-politician convicted in 2022 killing of Vegas reporter, jury sets sentence at 20 years to life

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Democratic former politician was found guilty of murder on Wednesday by a Nevada jury that decided he'll serve 20 years to life in prison for killing an investigative journalist who wrote articles critical of his conduct in office two years ago.

Robert Telles hung his head, shaking it slightly from side to side, as his verdict was read in Clark County District Court. Jurors deliberated for nearly 12 hours over three days before their unanimous vote that he ambushed and attacked Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German in a side yard of German's home.

Telles didn't speak then or when he learned his sentence but appeared near tears during character witness testimony by his wife, mother and ex-wife. His defense attorney, Robert Draskovich, told reporters outside court that his client plans to appeal.

Telles, 47, was returned in custody to jail, where he has been held without bail since his arrest several days after German's body was found during Labor Day weekend 2022. His sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 16.

Jessica Coleman, a county employee, was among several co-workers who urged German in 2022 to investigate Telles' conduct heading the office of unclaimed estate and probate property cases. She sobbed after the verdict was read.

“Finally. Finally,” Coleman said after sitting with other co-workers through trial, which started Aug. 12. “Finally the system is working.”

Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt can invoke sentencing enhancements because the killing was found to be with use of a deadly weapon, willful, deliberate, premeditated, by a person who lay in wait and on a victim 60 years or older. That could raise Telles' time in prison to a minimum of 21 years and a maximum of 28 years.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said outside the courtroom that he was surprised how long the 12 jurors deliberated before their guilty verdict. He said he believed they carefully considered evidence.

“The jury ... hit a home run by getting the right verdict," he said.

Jurors declined through a court official to speak later with the media. They could have set Telles' sentence at life without parole.

Wolfson derided as “ludicrous” Telles’ claims that a broad conspiracy of people — including Wolfson — framed him for German’s killing in retaliation for Telles' effort to root out corruption he saw in his office.

“I am not the kind of person who would stab someone. I didn’t kill Mr. German,” Telles told the jury last week as he ended his rambling narrative from the witness stand. “And that’s my testimony.”

Wolfson, an elected Democrat, said German “had a stellar reputation in this community" and called it "a crying shame, literally and figuratively that he’s no longer with us.”

German, 69, spent 44 years covering crime, courts and corruption in Las Vegas.

In their first public comments since his death, German's brother, Jay German, and two sisters, Jill Zwerg and Julie Smith, described him as a loving brother and uncle to their children.

“He was the older brother that we all leaned on,” Jay German said. He called the murder “devastating.”

Zwerg said her oldest brother — a dedicated reporter and author who moved to Las Vegas from Milwaukee in 1978 — used to tell her why he rejected offers by other newspapers to move to other cities.

“‘This is Las Vegas, Sin City,’” she said he told her. “‘This is where I need to be.’”

Tears welled in Telles’ eyes as his wife, Mary Ann “Mae” Ismael, took the witness stand and described him as a “great” provider during their 14 years of marriage for their “blended” family of her son, his daughter and their daughter.

“I would love to have the chance for the kids to have their father back” after prison, Ismael said.

Telles' ex-wife, Tonia Burton, noted the oldest child, a daughter she and Telles have together, is now 16.

His mother, Rosalinda Anaya, said she accepted the verdict but told the jury, “I ask if you could please give my son a chance at parole.”

Telles, an attorney, practiced civil law before he was elected in 2018. He lost his primary for a second elected term after German’s stories appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal in May and June 2022.

Prosecutor Christopher Hamner told jurors during closing arguments Monday that Telles blamed German for destroying his career, ruining his reputation and threatening his marriage. He said German fought to the death with his attacker and reminded them that DNA that matched Telles was found beneath German’s fingernails.

Prosecutor Pamela Weckerly presented a timeline and videos showing Telles' maroon SUV leaving the neighborhood near his home and driving on streets near German's home about the time German was killed.

The SUV driver was seen wearing a bright orange outfit similar to one worn by a person captured on camera walking to German’s home and slipping into a side yard where German was attacked just after 11:15 a.m.

A little more than two minutes later, the figure in orange wearing a broad straw hat emerged and walked down a sidewalk. German did not reappear.

Evidence showed Ismael sent a text message to her husband about 10:30 a.m. asking, “Where are you?" Prosecutors said Telles left his cellphone at home so he couldn't be tracked. Telles told the jury he took a walk and then went to a gym in the afternoon.

The jury learned that police found cut-up pieces of a straw hat and athletic shoe at Telles’ house that looked like ones worn by the person wearing the orange shirt. Neither the shirt nor a murder weapon were ever found.

Katherine Jacobsen, U.S., Canada, and Caribbean program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, issued a statement Wednesday saying the verdict “sends an important message that the killing of journalists will not be tolerated.”

“It is vital that the murder of journalists should be taken seriously and perpetrators held accountable,” Jacobsen said.

German was the only journalist killed in the U.S. in 2022, according to the New York-based committee. The nonprofit has records of 17 media workers killed in the U.S. since 1992.

Associated Press videographer Ty O'Neil and AP photographer John Locher contributed to this report.

Robert Telles, center, waits in the courtroom for the verdict in his murder trial at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas Wednesday, August 28, 2024. Telles, a former Clark County public administrator, was found guilty in the stabbing death of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German. With Telles are his attorneys Robert Draskovich, left, and Michael Horvath. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson addresses the media about the guilty verdict in former Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles trial for the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German at the Regional Justice Court Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in Las Vegas, (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

Jill Zwerg, center, a sister of investigative reporter Jeff German, and her brother Jay German, right, leave a courtroom after former Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles was found guilty of murdering German, at the Regional Justice Center, on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in Las Vegas, on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

From left, former co-workers of Robert Telles, Rita Reid, Aleisha Goodwin, Jessica Coleman and Noraine Pagdanganan react to a guilty verdict in Telles' murder trial at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas Wednesday, August 28, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal, Pool)/

Robert Telles walks into the courtroom from an in custody area for the verdict in his murder trial at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas Wednesday, August 28, 2024. Telles, a former Clark County public administrator, was found guilty in the stabbing death of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal, Pool)/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

Robert Telles reacts to the guilty verdict in his murder trial at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas Wednesday, August 28, 2024. Telles, a former Clark County public administrator, was found guilty in the stabbing death of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

Family members of Jeff German react to the guilty verdict in Robert Telles' murder trial at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. Telles, a former Clark County public administrator, was found guilty in the stabbing death of German, a Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

An evidence photo is shown during the defense's closing arguments in Robert Telles' murder trial at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. Telles, a former Clark County public administrator, is charged in the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

FILE - Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles, right, talks to Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German in his Las Vegas office, on May 11, 2022. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, File)

Jeff German, investigative reporter, poses for a portrait at the Las Vegas Review-Journal photos studio, in Las Vegas, on Jan. 19, 2017. (Elizabeth Brumley/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

District Judge Michelle Leavitt speaks during a hearing for a juror question during deliberations for murder trial for Robert Telles, a former Clark County public administrator charged in the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German, at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

Defense attorney Robert Draskovich gives his closing argument during the murder trial for Robert Telles, a former Clark County public administrator charged in the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German, at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Hamner gives his closing argument during the murder trial for Robert Telles, a former Clark County public administrator charged in the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German, at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

An evidence photo is shown during the defense's closing arguments in Robert Telles' murder trial at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, August 26, 2024. Telles, a former Clark County public administrator, is charged in the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

Robert Telles, a former Clark County public administrator charged in the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German, returns to the courtroom during juror deliberations in his murder trial at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

Robert Telles, right, a former Clark County public administrator charged in the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German, listens to closing arguments during his murder trial at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. With Telles are his attorneys Robert Draskovich, left, and Michael Horvath. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

Jury returns to deliberations in trial of former politician accused of killing Las Vegas reporter

Jury returns to deliberations in trial of former politician accused of killing Las Vegas reporter

Robert Telles, a former Clark County public administrator charged in the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German, waits in the courtroom during his murder trial at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

CLEVELAND (AP) — Zack Littell shut down Cleveland for six innings and rookie Logan Driscoll hit his first career homer, a two-run shot, sending the Tampa Bay Rays to a 3-1 win over the AL Central-leading Guardians on Friday night.

Littell (7-9) allowed just two hits in his second straight strong start. He blanked Baltimore for five innings last week and has thrown 13 consecutive scoreless frames. The right-hander is 4-0 in his career against the Guardians.

Littell's performance followed Tampa Bay's bullpen shutting out Cleveland over the final seven innings in Thursday's series opener.

“We downplayed it a little but we needed a strong outing from the starter and he certainty provided that,” manager Kevin Cash said of Littell, who retired his final 11 batters. "He had to get the off-speed pitches going and he did, and got deep in the ballgame for us.”

The Guardians didn't score until the eighth, when rookie Jhonkensy Noel and David Fry hit back-to-back doubles off Mason Montgomery. Fry's shot to left missed being a two-run homer by inches.

Cash brought in Edwin Uceta, returning from his two-game suspension for throwing at Philadelphia’s Nick Castellanos, to get two outs in the eighth. Uceta then worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save.

“He’s done that every outing but one,” Cash said. "He’s really set the bar high for himself. We’re fortunate to have him and some other young pitchers. They’re getting some good reps in this type of atmosphere on this trip.”

Cleveland's loss coupled with Kansas City's win reduced the Guardians' division lead to three games. The Guardians are 1-4 against the Rays.

“This Tampa team knows how to pitch,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us the next two days.”

Cleveland played without All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan, who was scratched with back soreness.

Driscoll connected in the third inning off Tanner Bibee (11-8), who had an up-and-down outing. Bibee gave up two homers and finished with nine strikeouts after striking out the side in two innings.

Jonathan Aranda also homered for the Rays, who are facing three division leaders — Baltimore, Philadelphia and Cleveland — and are 4-4 on a 10-game trip.

“For us, it’s win every game right now, but this road trip has been circled all year,” Littell said. "We've done a really nice job. We got swept in Philly, but every game we were in and it just kind of didn’t go our way.”

Driscoll's shot into the right-field seats in the second came moments after Jose Siri narrowly missed a homer with a blast to center field that hit the yellow line marking the top of the wall.

With Siri on third following a triple, Driscoll, who drove in the winning run in his MLB debut on Sept. 3, homered. He received a warm welcome in Tampa Bay's dugout as the Rays raised their arms to form a tunnel for him to run through.

“It was one of those things where you don’t really realize what happened in the moment until the game ended and I was able to kind of process things,” Driscoll said, who got the souvenir ball, trading a signed bat with a fan.

“I’ve got find a spot for it,” he said. “That's for sure.”

TRAINER'S ROOM

Rays: LF Christoper Morel was replaced in the third inning with right Achilles tendon discomfort. Morel accidentally got stepped on by Cleveland's Brayan Rocchio on Thursday night and appeared to be favoring his foot on two plays in the field. Cash said he'll like get Saturday off.

Guardians: RHP Ben Lively (bruised thigh) threw a bullpen session and is on track to start Sunday's series finale. Lively was lucky to not be more seriously hurt after being hit with a line drive in Chicago.

UP NEXT

Guardians rookie LHP Joey Cantillo (1-3, 5.96 ERA) starts Saturday in his first game since taking a perfect game into the seventh inning against the White Sox. The Rays will start Drew Rasmussen in a bullpen game.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Logan Driscoll, left, celebrates with relief pitcher Edwin Uceta, right, after they defeated the Cleveland Guardians in a baseball game Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Tampa Bay Rays' Edwin Uceta pitches in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Logan Driscoll, left, celebrates with relief pitcher Edwin Uceta, right, after they defeated the Cleveland Guardians in a baseball game Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Tampa Bay Rays' Jose Caballero reacts after a called second strike in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. Caballero struck out in the at-bat. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Tampa Bay Rays' Jose Siri tosses his bat after striking out in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. Guardians catcher Bo Naylor is at left. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez, left, gestures after tagging out Tampa Bay Rays' Brandon Lowe (8) in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Guardians right fielder Jhonkensy Noel catches a fly ball hit for an out against Tampa Bay Rays' Jonathan Aranda in the second inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Tampa Bay Rays' Jose Caballero walks back to the dugout after striking out in the second inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez, right, slides safely into second base under the tag of Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Jose Caballero, left, inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez, left, tags out Tampa Bay Rays' Brandon Lowe (8) in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Tampa Bay Rays' Logan Driscoll, right, is congratulated by teammate Jose Siri (22) after hitting a home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Tampa Bay Rays' Zack LIttell pitches in the first inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)