Sept. 8 (UPI) — Authorities in Las Vegas said they have arrested a suspect in the stabbing death of local investigative reporter Jeff German.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced the arrest Wednesday night in a brief statement published to its Twitter account that said “the suspect in the homicide that occurred on September 2, 2022, has been taken into police custody.”
German, a veteran Las Vegas reporter of more than three decades, was found by police Saturday morning outside his home in the 7200 block of Bronze Circle. Authorities said they believe he was stabbed to death the night prior following an altercation with another person.
The coroner ruled German died as a result of multiple sharp force injuries.
Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo confirmed the arrest Wednesday to German’s employer, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and identified the suspect as Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles, 45.
The Review-Journal said German, 69, was killed as he was working on a follow-up story into Telles after an investigation he previously wrote contributed to the 45-year-old Democrat’s defeat in June’s primary election.
“The arrest of Robert Telles is at once an enormous relief and an outrage for the Review-Journal newsroom,” Glenn Cook, the newspaper’s executive editor, said in a statement. “We are relieved Telles is in custody and outraged that a colleague appears to have been killed for reporting on an elected official.”
Authorities had launched an investigation to find German’s killer, and on Monday released an image of a suspect taken from surveillance footage that shows an individual wearing a large straw-colored hat, a reflective orange long-sleeve shirt, long pants and black gloves walking in the area of German’s home.
Police said that they believe the suspect had been casing the area to commit other crimes before the homicide occurred.
On Tuesday, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department released an updated video of the suspect and a photo of the suspect’s red GMC Yukon truck.
The Review-Journal reported Wednesday that a vehicle matching the description released by police was parked at Telles’ home, and it and a second vehicle on the property were towed away shortly before 1 p.m.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said that a search warrant had been issued in connection to the homicide investigation without stating it was for Telles’ residence.
In May, ahead of the June election, German had written an article describing Telles’ office as having been “mired in turmoil and internal dissension” for more than two years. The report included accusations of bullying by Telles and that he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.
In mid-June, Telles called German a “typical bully” in a Twitter thread that accused him of being unable to accept criticism while criticizing his reporting.
