In this May 11, 2022 file photo, Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles in his office in Las Vegas. Police say they are issuing search warrants in connection with the fatal stabbing of a Las Vegas reporter last week. In a statement on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, Metro Police did not specify where they were looking in connection with the death of reporter Jeff German. But the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported uniformed officers and police vehicles were seen outside the home of Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles. (KM Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP) An elected official in the Las Vegas area was arrested Wednesday and identified by police as a suspect in the fatal stabbing of a veteran newspaper reporter whose investigations into the official’s work preceded his major disappearance in June. Clark County Public Administrator Robert “Rob” Telles, a Democrat, was taken into custody at his home by a police SWAT unit hours after investigators served a search warrant and seized vehicles as part of the criminal investigation into the slaying of the Las Vegas Review reporter – Journal Jeff. German. “The suspect in the homicide that occurred on September 2, 2022, is in custody,” the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department tweeted just before 7 p.m. Telles, 45, had been at the center of German’s reporting of turmoil, including allegations of administrative bullying, favoritism and Telles’ relationship with an incumbent in the county office that handles estates of people who die without a will or family ties. Telles did not immediately respond Wednesday to phone messages at his county office, and it was not immediately clear after his arrest whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. The county administrative office was closed. German joined the Review-Journal in 2010 after more than two decades at the Las Vegas Sun, where he was a columnist and reporter covering the courts, politics, labor, government and organized crime. Telles, an attorney who practiced probate and estate law, won his elected position in 2018, replacing a three-term public administrator. He lost the party primary in June to Assistant Public Administrator Rita Reed. Telles’ term ends on December 31. In the weeks leading up to the election, Germano highlighted reports of an office “immersed in turmoil and internal discord” between longtime staffers and new hires under Telles’ leadership. Telles blamed the “oldies” for exaggerating the extent of his relationship with a female employee and falsely claiming he abused them. “All my new employees are very happy and they are all productive and doing well,” he told the newspaper. “We’ve almost doubled productivity in the office.” Telles later tweeted complaints about German, the Review-Journal reported, including claims in June that German was a bully who was “obsessed” with him. German, a reporter with a reputation for persistence, has been working on follow-up reports, the newspaper reported Wednesday, and recently filed public requests for emails and text messages between Tells and three other county officials, including Reed and Councilman Michael Murphy. Murphy, the former Clark County coroner who was hired to address allegations about leadership in the public administrators’ office, did not immediately return a phone message. Germanos’ body was found Saturday morning outside his home. Police said he was apparently killed on Friday and described the attack as an isolated incident. The Clark County Medical Examiner ruled that German died of “multiple blunt force injuries” and ruled the case a homicide. After police on Monday asked for the public’s help in locating a suspect, developments came quickly. Police on Tuesday showed a brief video of a possible suspect walking down a sidewalk dressed in bright orange “construction gear” and shared a photo of a distinctive red or brown GMC Yukon Denali SUV with chrome handles, a sunroof and a luggage rack, saying it may be connected to the case. Tells was seen in newspaper photos washing a similar vehicle parked in his driveway on Tuesday, and KTNV-TV reported that the vehicle was towed after police arrived Wednesday. German died of “multiple blunt force injuries,” the Clark County Coroner said, and the case has been ruled a homicide.
