Las Vegas Democratic Politician Charged With Murder of Journalist Testifies: ‘I Am Unequivocally Innocent’

A former Las Vegas Democratic politician on trial for allegedly killing a veteran investigative journalist who wrote critical stories about the official testified Wednesday to give his side of the story and plead his innocence.

“I am unequivocally innocent,” Robert Telles, 47, said on the Nevada witness stand before 12 jurors and two alternates.

Telles, a former Democratic state property administrator in Clark County, is charged with murdering Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German in September 2022, just months after German wrote unflattering articles about Telles and his workplace conduct, including allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a co-worker.

German was found dead, slashed and stabbed, in a side yard outside his home, where Telles is accused in a criminal complaint of “waiting” for German to come out.

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Telles faces life in prison if convicted and claims he was framed by a real estate company for trying to fight corruption he saw in his office. He has never explained what he was doing that day and is expected to resume his testimony Thursday.

“This is the day I’ve been waiting for,” Telles said after his lawyer received permission from the trial judge to let Telles testify “by way of narration” instead of a standard question-and-answer format.

His attorney, Robert Draskovich, then sat down. He had strongly advised his client not to take the stand and risk being questioned under oath by two prosecutors who rested their murder case Monday after four days, 28 witnesses and hundreds of pages of photos, police reports and video evidence that weigh heavily against Telles.

“I did not kill Mr. German,” Telles said. “When I share an opinion with you, that is my right. And it is your right to decide whether you agree with my opinion or not, whether you want to doubt my opinion or not. I just hope that no one will stop me from sharing with you what I have to say.”

“I’ve been in a cell for almost two years,” Telles told jurors, adding several times that he was “very nervous.”

German’s family appeared puzzled at times while Telles was on the stand, Fox 5 reports, while jurors could be seen taking notes throughout his testimony. At times, exhibits were not ready for Telles to show the jury. The judge asked the defendant to continue without those exhibits, though Telles argued the jury needed to see them.

Telles then told the jury about his background, his early days in high school, how he became a lawyer after working several unrelated jobs and how he met his wife. They have three children together.

He said the manner in which German was killed was indicative of someone who knew what he was doing.

“The idea that Mr. German had his throat slit and his heart stabbed, I don’t know if anybody can do that without training,” Telles said. “Somebody accused me of that and I believe it was Compass Realty, and it was related to the work I did against them.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Compass Realty for comment.

A health club manager testified that records showed Telles’ membership was used to check into a Las Vegas property just after noon on the day German was killed. But he also said videos of guests arriving and leaving at that time were no longer available.

A cellphone data expert testifying for Telles’ defense admitted earlier during questioning by a prosecutor that Telles’ phone showed no outgoing activity between 8:48 a.m. and 2:05 p.m. that day — a period during which evidence showed German was killed. Police and prosecutors have said they believe Telles left his phone at home.

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Telles was arrested days after German’s death after police released video of a person wearing an orange work shirt and a wide-brimmed straw hat, carrying a shoulder bag and walking toward German’s home.

Prosecutors say they have strong evidence, including DNA believed to be Telles’s found under German’s fingernails, as well as cut pieces of a straw hat and shoes found in Telles’ home that resembled those worn by the person seen in a video outside German’s home.

Police also released images of a distinctive brown SUV, like the one a Review-Journal photographer saw Telles washing outside his home several days after the killing.

On Monday, the jury learned that Telles had hundreds of photos of German’s home and neighborhood on his cellphone and computer.

Other photos taken from Telles’ devices included an image of a single gray athletic shoe with a distinctive black pattern and a photo of Telles’ work computer at the Clark County Public Administrator and Guardian’s office with results from Internet searches through a password-protected site that pulled up German’s name, home address, vehicle registration and date of birth.

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Prosecutor Christopher Hamner told jurors the photo was taken on Aug. 23, 2022, less than two weeks before German was found dead in a pool of blood.

Telles grew up in El Paso, Texas, and lived in Colorado before moving to Las Vegas. He became a lawyer in 2015 and ran as a Democrat in 2018 to become Clark County probate administrator. He lost his elected office after his arrest, and his law license was suspended.

Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty and Telles remains in prison.

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.