On Thursday, Clark County Public Administrator, Robert Telles was arraigned in court pending open murder charges for the slaying of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German. I have extensively reported on the investigation, the arrest, and the formal announcement from Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, headed by Sheriff Joe Lombardo.
Telles was brought before Judge Elana Lee Graham in Department 1 of the Las Vegas Township Justice Court in Nevada. Judge Graham ordered Telles to be held without bail, continuing the arraignment hearing until next week.
Images and videos of Telles in court have surfaced on Twitter. Telles can be seen with bandages on his inner arm from wounds he self-inflicted ahead of his arrest.
District Attorney Steve Wolfson addressed the press following the hearing. Wolfson said the evidence in the case is compelling, and that he expects to file charges for open murder against Telles, which will be formally announced at the next hearing.
Wolfson commended LVMPD for their work in this case. Wolfson answered continued questions from the media about his involvement with the decision to have Telles released in the hours ahead of his arrest. Due to the constitutional rights of defendants, the decision to release Telles was made until further evidence and results met the legal standard to cause the arrest. Wolfson said that the decision to seek capital punishment in this case will not be made for months. The DA acknowledged that evidence showed that the DNA from Telles was found on the hands and potentially under the fingernails of the victim, Mr. German.
A statement was issued by Clark County on Thursday saying that the County is reviewing their options under the law for how to remove Telles from his current elected position as the Public Administrator. The County indicated employees of the Public Administrator’s office are working from home, and the office will remain closed until further decisions are made.
The full statement reads:
“The death of Jeff German was both shocking and tragic, and we join with our community in being stunned at how this situation has continued to evolve over the last few days. The Public Administrator is an elected position and the County is reviewing its options under the law regarding Robert Telles’ current status as the Public Administrator. The safety of our county employees and the public is our top priority, and the County has suspended Mr. Telles’ access to county offices or property. County employees of the administrator’s office are currently working from home, and the office will remain closed until a determination is made about when it can reopen. When county management was made aware of the personnel issues at the public administrator’s office a couple of months ago, the decision was made to no longer have staff in the public administrator’s office report to Mr. Telles and this solution will be in place until the public elects a new Public Administrator in November. Clark County continues to cooperate with the LVMPD on this active investigation. Our condolences are with Jeff German’s family, friends, and colleagues at the Review-Journal.”
The next court hearing is expected to be held on Tuesday, September 13, according to the District Attorney.