Former Las Vegas Democratic official Robert Telles has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for the murder of investigative journalist Jeff German, whose reporting had exposed Telles’s affair with a female coworker.

Telles, 47, was convicted of first-degree murder in August, with sentencing enhancements for using a deadly weapon and the victim’s age adding an additional eight years to the mandatory 20-year sentence, according to the Associated Press.

Robert Telles is still thinking he is innocent.
This was him on 8/23/2022. When he did murder the late Jeff German in cold blood. He thinks putting on a disguise, will make him not a murderer. This didn’t work for the late Robert Durst when he was Dorothy Criner in Galveston TX. pic.twitter.com/7vMHOrgsdT

— LittleLeigh (@LittleLeighXoxo) October 16, 2024

“The judge couldn’t sentence him to any more time,” said Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson. “She gave him the maximum.”

Despite Telles’s denial of responsibility for German’s death, DNA evidence found under the journalist’s fingernails tied him to the crime. German, who worked for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, had written several articles detailing bullying within Telles’s office and revealing the official’s romantic relationship with a staff member. These reports played a role in Telles losing his re-election bid in 2022.

At the time of his arrest, Telles was overseeing a county office managing unclaimed estates and probate cases. After his arrest, he was removed from his position.

Although Telles continued to deny involvement in the murder, he did offer condolences to German’s family during his sentencing. “I understand the desire to seek justice and hold somebody accountable for this,” Telles stated. “But I did not kill Mr. German.”

Prosecutors argued that Telles’s frustration over German’s critical reporting of his political office motivated the murder. “He didn’t like what Mr. German had written about him. He felt that Mr. German had cost him an elected position,” said Prosecutor Pamela Weckerly. The court heard that Telles disguised himself with a sunhat, hid outside German’s home, and fatally stabbed him. Physical and video evidence presented during the trial connected Telles to the suspect’s disguise, the vehicle at the scene, and the DNA found under the journalist’s fingernails.

Judge Michelle Leavitt applied sentencing enhancements due to the premeditated nature of the murder, the use of a deadly weapon, and the fact that German was over 60 years old.

Clark County administrator Robert Telles, accused of murdering Vegas reporter Jeff German, just showed up in court smiling pic.twitter.com/RsOtb044Af

— Las Vegas Locally 🌴 (@LasVegasLocally) September 13, 2022

“This defendant has shown absolutely no remorse, no acceptance of responsibility,” Wolfson added. “And in fact, his behavior is such that I believe he is an extreme danger to the community if he is ever released.”