Democrat Las Vegas Official Accused of Murdering Journalist Keeps His Paycheck and Position
Clark County Public Administrator Rob Telles is accused of murdering Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German.
Telles could remain in his role.
“For now, he’s still an elected officer and he’ll get paid while he’s in jail,” confirmed Democratic Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom.
Segerbloom thinks the commission could take action by ordering a recall. From KLAS:
That would require a recall petition and other work, including gathering and verifying more than 100,000 signatures. Before Telles’ arrest, an election was already in the works to choose his replacement since Telles lost his June primary.“We can take the scope of work away from him, but as far as him having the title and getting the salary, it is that way, because the voters picked him,” Segerblom said.Telles could also resign.Judge Elana Lee Graham denied bail for Telles on Thursday. If a judge sets bail and Telles is released pending trial, he will not have access to his office or other county buildings, officials said Thursday.“People don’t need to worry that the place isn’t being run or he’s still running it,” Segerblom said. Former Clark County coroner Michael Murphy was hired to mend tension in the office earlier this year.
The public administrator “runs the office that administers a deceased person’s estate is no family is found or if the family is unable.”
Telles gained his position in 2019. Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) placed him on the Board of Indigent Defense.
The board removed Telles, who also lost the privilege as a voting member after the governor signed the paperwork.
Telles also lost a three-way primary in June for the job to his deputy.
Telles faces an open murder charge:
Telles, 45, a Democrat, was taken into custody Wednesday in the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German. Telles faces one charge of open murder.German, 69, was found deceased outside his home on Saturday. He had published several stories about Telles’ office, saying it was in “turmoil” in the months leading up to his stabbing death last weekend.Telles’ DNA was discovered under German’s fingernails, sources told the 8 News Now Investigators on Thursday.
German covered Telles many times. He was working on a story at the time of his murder. Previous stories covered the hostile work environment caused by Telles and an inappropriate relationship.
From The Las Vegas Review-Journal:
The criminal complaint — a document used to charge defendants — was filed on Monday. It shows that Telles faces a charge of murder with the following enhancements: use of a deadly weapon and victim being an older person.Enhancements on criminal charges can result in longer sentences.The one-page criminal complaint alleges that the killing was “willful, deliberate and premeditated,” “perpetrated by lying in wait for” German, and/or “perpetrated by abuse of an older person.”It also alleges that German was stabbed with a knife.
The law firm Hofland & Tomsheck explained what an “open murder charge” is in Nevada:
In Nevada, a person accused of a homicide will generally be charged by the prosecutor with “open murder” – – meaning that they are charged with a general allegation of Murder, which includes each of the following types of homicide: First Degree Murder, Second Degree Murder, Voluntary Manslaughter and Involuntary Manslaughter. These types of homicide are defined generally as follows:
- 1st Degree Murder – the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought. First Degree Murder must contain the elements of willfulness, premeditation and deliberation or be perpetrated by means of poison, lying in wait or torture, committed during the perpetration of certain felonies (arson, burglary, home invasion, kidnapping, sexual assault/abuse, robbery, abuse of an older person or vulnerable person), committed to prevent arrest or imprisonment or to facilitate escape from custody, committed on school grounds or intended to risk of death or harm to others;
- 2nd Degree Murder – is literally all other kinds of murder which are not first degree.
- Voluntary Manslaughter – is defined as the unlawful killing of another human being – – and can occur without malice or deliberation – – usually voluntary manslaughter occurs during the “sudden heat of passion” and/or a “provocation which made the passion irresistible.
- Involuntary Manslaughter – The unintentional killing of a human being under certain circumstances.
In cases where a criminal defendant is charged with open murder, it is up to the judge or jury to decide which level of offense occurred.
Christopher Oram, a defense attorney not associated with the case, thinks the prosecutors will charge Telles with first-degree murder.
The “willful, deliberate and premeditated” and “lying in wait” parts of the criminal complaint “are the standards, the elements of first-degree murder.”
Telles’s term expires in January.
This is America. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. No one should lose their job or salary until proven guilty in a court of law, even if the evidence is strong against the defendant.
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