LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Robert Telles, the former Clark County official accused of killing Las Vegas investigative reporter Jeff German, has filed a motion requesting a 4- to 6-month delay in his trial.
Telles, 46, filed the motion on Sept. 27, saying he has yet to receive information he needs to defend himself. He is acting as his own lawyer in the case and relying on police and courts to provide information that, by law, they are required to turn over to the defense. He remains in the Clark County Detention Center without bail on a murder charge. A hearing is scheduled Oct. 18.
Some of that information is tied up in a court battle between the Review-Journal and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. It involves information on German’s phone and five computers — information the newspaper argues is protected by Nevada’s shield law. The Review-Journal says making the information public would reveal German’s sources and other stories he was working on. The case is before the Nevada Supreme Court.
German was stabbed to death, and police found his body on Sept. 3, 2022, next to his home. Telles was the subject of stories German wrote a few months before he was killed, and he was arrested in the murder. The trial is scheduled Nov. 6, but Telles argues he cannot present his defense without the information and time to review it.
Telles also argues the state and/or Metro police should be held in contempt of court for failing to provide the information.
In the motion, Telles requests “a list of witnesses known to the State to have knowledge of his cause favorable to the defense, and a copy of the statement of any such witness,” as well as other documents related to the investigation. He also requests the names and addresses of “any individuals who were considered at any time during the case as possible suspects.” He claims he was framed and evidence was planted to make him look guilty.
