LAS VEGAS — A jury in Las Vegas ended its second day of deliberations Tuesday in the murder trial of a Democratic former elected official accused of killing an investigative reporter two years ago over stories the politician blamed for destroying his career, ruining his reputation and threatening his marriage.
The panel returns Wednesday morning to decide if Robert Telles, the former county administrator of unclaimed estates, is guilty of ambushing and stabbing reporter Jeff German to death two years ago outside German's home. Jurors have deliberated more than 10 hours since closing arguments on Monday.
Prosecutor Christopher Hamner told them that finding Telles guilty based on overwhelming evidence they heard during eight days of trial would be "like connecting the dots.''
But Telles' defense attorney, Robert Draskovich, told jurors during his closing to ask themselves, ''What evidence is missing?'' He presented a surprise image of a person whose profile did not look like Telles' driving a maroon SUV that evidence showed was key to the crime.
Telles lost his Democratic primary for a second elected term after German's stories appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal in May 2022. They described turmoil and bullying at the Clark County Public Administrator/Guardian office and a romantic relationship between Telles and an employee.
Hamner said Telles learned from county officials just hours before German was killed that the reporter was working on another story about that relationship.
Prosecutor Pamela Weckerly presented a timeline and videos of Telles' maroon SUV leaving the neighborhood near his home a little after 9 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2022, and driving on streets near German's home a short time later.
In some photos drawn from security camera video, the SUV driver is 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.