A Las Vegas-area politician was arrested Wednesday in the stabbing death of investigative journalist Jeff German, whose newspaper says the suspect was the subject of his reporting.
Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles was arrested on suspicion of murder in the fatal stabbing of German, whose work in the Las Vegas Review-Journal preceded Telles’ primary election loss in June.
German was working on a potential follow-up story about Telles in the weeks before he was murdered, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Telles was taken into custody at his home by SWAT officers after investigators served a search warrant in the probe into German’s death, Sheriff Joe Lombardo told the newspaper. He was first taken to the hospital with self-inflicted injuries.
He faces a charge of open murder with a deadly weapon, and was due in court again Thursday.
The slain journalist, a 12-year veteran at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, had spent months reporting on Telles’ disorderly management of the public administrator’s office.
Telles, a 45-year-old Democrat, lost his re-election bid after German published reports detailing complaints of a hostile work environment, favoritism and Telles’ relationship with a subordinate in his office.
The newspaper’s Executive Editor Glenn Cook said Telles’ arrest was an ‘enormous relief.’
‘We are relieved Telles is in custody and outraged that a colleague appears to have been killed for reporting on an elected official,’ Cook said. ‘Journalists can[‘t do the important work out communities require if they are afraid a presentation of facts could lead to violent retribution.’
German’s journalism career spanned over 40 years in Las Vegas, where he notably exposed corruption and crime perpetuated by politicians and others in positions of power. His work was so powerful that it often led to policy change, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
He was found dead Saturday morning outside his Las Vegas home, where police said they believe he was fatally stabbed during an altercation the previous day. He was 69.
A private funeral service was held for German on Wednesday.
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