An ambulance, presumably carrying Clark County Administrator Robert Telles, drives away from his residence Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022.
Published Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022 | 9:49 a.m.
Updated Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022 | 10:30 p.m.
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Clark County Administrator Robert Telles was arrested Wednesday evening and charged with murder, Metro Police confirmed hours after officers executed a search warrant at his Las Vegas home in connection to the homicide of Las Vegas investigative journalist Jeff German.
The area around the government official's residence in the 9600 block of Spanish Steps Lane, near Charleston Boulevard and Hualapai Way was blocked off by police around 4 p.m. after they began the search about 7 a.m. Police waited outside Telles' home for about three hours before he was taken into custody.
Telles was transported from his home in an ambulance with a police escort. His condition was unknown.
He was booked at the Clark County Detention Center on a charge of open murder, according to the facility's booking log. A court appearance was set for 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
Police said there would be no further updates on their investigation today. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo will provide an update 10 a.m. Thursday, police said.
German's death came months after reports in the Las Vegas Review-Journal that current and former employees under Telles alleged the public administrator fueled a hostile work environment and had an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. Telles has denied the accusations.
German, 69, was a longtime investigative reporter at the Review-Journal after spending more than 20 years at the Sun.
Telles had also taken to social media to vent frustrations about German, calling the reporter a "typical bully" and "obsessed" with him in tweets from June. In another post, Telles said, "I think he's mad that I haven't crawled into a hole and died."
Telles placed third in June's Democratic primary election for the county office, which oversees probate estates for residents who have died. Telles said he would return to practicing probate law, German reported June 22. It was his last story on Telles, the Review-Journal noted.
German was found dead with multiple stab wounds Saturday morning outside his home in the 7200 block of Bronze Circle, near Vegas Drive and Tenaya Way, police said. His death was rule homicide by multiple sharp force injuries, according to the Clark County Coroner's Office.
He apparently was involved in an altercation with an unknown subject Friday that led to the stabbing, police said.
Metro has released surveillance footage from near German's home showing an unidentified person wearing a sun hat, gloves and a bright orange long-sleeved shirt with silver reflective markings. They were carrying a duffel bag.
On Tuesday, police released footage of a vehicle that might have been linked to the case — a 2007 to 2014 GMC Yukon Denali SUV with chrome door handles, a sunroof and luggage rack. A similar vehicle was seen this morning in the driveway at Telles' house.
The SUV was impounded by police Wednesday afternoon.
German covered some of Las Vegas’ most noteworthy news events over the past four decades — from the deadly MGM fire in 1980 to the death of casino boss Ted Binion in the late 1990s to an FBI investigation in the early 2000s into bribes taken by Clark County commissioners.
He joined the Review-Journal 12 years ago after more than two decades at the Sun, where he was a columnist and reporter who covered courts, politics, labor, government and organized crime.
He wrote the 2001 true-crime book "Murder in Sin City: The Death of a Las Vegas Casino Boss," about Binion, heir of the Horseshoe Club fortune.
German covered Binion's death and subsequent trial for the Sun, documenting how Binion's girlfriend Sandra Murphy and her love interest Rick Tabish were acquitted on murder charges after initially being convicted in the death.
