US: Local politician convicted of murdering reporter
A former Nevada county official was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of journalist Jeff Gordon. Gordon had published reporting that was critical of the politician’s professional behavior.
Jeff German was stabbed to death outside his home in September 2022. Just days later, police had taken Robert Telles, then the Clark County Public Administrator, into custody as a suspect in the killing.
A jury has now found Telles guilty of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment. He will be eligible for parole after 20 years.
German worked for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and had published stories critical of Telles. In May 2022 he wrote an article that quoted sources claiming that Telles had created a “hostile work environment” and was involved in a relationship with a coworker to whom he was giving preferential treatment. Telles denied the criticisms at the time.
As the New York Times reports, Telles lost his bid for re-election a month after the article was published. German was working on a follow-up article at the time of his death.
The Washington Post reports that under cross-examination, Telles said that he “probably” would have won the election had it not been for German’s reporting. He also said in court that he was upset with German – and that he had told German directly at the time.
DNA evidence
The prosecution accused the 47-year-old defendant of hiding outside German’s house and then stabbing the journalist to death in retaliation for his reporting. Among the evidence produced by the prosecution were traces of Telles’s DNA which were found under the fingernails of the deceased.
Telles’s defense attorney criticized the police for failing to consider evidence that might have pointed to other suspects, the New York Times reports.
In court Telles insisted on his innocence. In testimony that lasted nearly three hours he claimed that a professional hitman had killed German – and that he was now being framed for the crime.
The twelve-member jury however returned a unanimous verdict finding Telles guilty of first degree murder.
Glenn Cook, executive editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, said in a statement that the verdict “brought a measure of justice for Jeff German.” Said Cook: “Jeff was killed for doing the kind of work in which he took great pride: His reporting held an elected official accountable for bad behavior and empowered voters to choose someone else for the job.”
Cook added: “In many countries, the killers of journalists go unpunished. Not so in Las Vegas.”
“Justice”
The nonprofit Reporters without Borders (RSF) also welcomed the verdict against the former official. Teller’s conviction “sends an important message of accountability for crimes against journalists.”
Clayton Weimers, Executive Director of RSF USA, said: “In a world where the vast majority of crimes against journalists are met with impunity, we are grateful that justice has been delivered for Jeff German and that his killer will undoubtedly spend a very long time behind bars. German’s legacy will forever be his steadfast commitment to journalism and the stories he told about his city, Las Vegas.”
While praising the verdict, however, RSF repeated earlier criticisms of the investigation into German’s murder: “While investigating Telles, law enforcement risked German’s confidential sources by seizing his electronic devices and newsgathering materials.”
According to RSF, since 2000, eleven journalists in the United States have been killed in connection with their work.
Katherine Jacobsen of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) told the New York Times that local reporters in the US “face particular risks” – for one because they “live among the people they cover.” Jacobsen also drew attention to the fact that German was killed outside his own home. “It’s chilling to think that there are no safe places for those local journalists to go,” she said.
In the RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index, the US is ranked 55th out of 180 countries – down ten spots from last year’s ranking. (js)