Las Vegas official who was subject of newspaper exposés arrested in journalist’s stabbing death

A Las Vegas-area elected public official was arrested Wednesday and recognized by police because the suspect within the deadly stabbing of a veteran newspaper reporter whose investigations of the official’s work preceded his main loss in June.

Clark County Public Administrator Robert “Rob” Telles, a Democrat, was taken into custody at his house by a police SWAT unit hours after investigators served a search warrant and confiscated autos within the prison probe of the killing of Las Vegas Assessment-Journal reporter Jeff German.

“The suspect within the murder that occurred on September 2, 2022, has been taken into custody,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police tweeted shortly earlier than 7 p.m.

Telles, 45, had been a spotlight of German’s reporting about turmoil together with complaints of administrative bullying, favouritism and Telles’ relationship with a subordinate staffer within the county workplace that handles property of people that die and not using a will or household contacts.

Telles didn’t instantly reply Wednesday to phone messages at his county workplace, and it was not instantly clear following his arrest if he had an legal professional who may communicate on his behalf. The county administrator workplace was closed.

German joined the Assessment-Journal in 2010 after greater than 20 years on the Las Vegas Solar, the place he was a columnist and reporter who coated courts, politics, labour, authorities and arranged crime.

Misplaced get together main

Telles, a lawyer who practiced probate and property legislation, received his elected place in 2018, changing a three-term public administrator. He misplaced his June get together main to Assistant Public Administrator Rita Reid. Telles’ time period expires Dec. 31.

Within the weeks earlier than the election, German bylined studies about an workplace “mired in turmoil and inner dissension” between longtime staff and new hires beneath Telles’ management.

Telles blamed “old-timers” for exaggerating the extent of his relationship with a feminine staffer and falsely claiming that he mistreated them.

“All my new staff are super-happy and everybody’s productive and doing nicely,” he instructed the newspaper. “We have virtually doubled the productiveness within the workplace.”

Telles later posted Twitter complaints about German, the Assessment-Journal reported, together with claims in June that German was a bully who was “obsessed” with him.

German, a reporter with a repute for tenacity, was engaged on follow-up studies, the newspaper mentioned Wednesday, and just lately filed public information requests for emails and textual content messages between Telles and three different county officers together with Reid and marketing consultant Michael Murphy.

Murphy, the previous Clark County coroner employed to handle complaints about management within the public directors’ workplace, didn’t instantly reply to a phone message.

German’s physique was discovered Saturday morning outdoors his house. Police mentioned he apparently was killed Friday and characterised the assault as an remoted incident. The Clark County coroner dominated that German died of “a number of sharp pressure accidents” and dominated the case a murder.

After police requested Monday for public assist to determine a suspect, developments got here rapidly.

Police on Tuesday confirmed a quick video of a doable suspect strolling on a sidewalk clad in brilliant orange “building apparel” and distributed a photograph of a particular purple or maroon GMC Yukon Denali SUV with chrome handles, a sunroof and a baggage rack, saying it could have been linked to the case.

Telles was seen in newspaper photographs washing an analogous automobile parked in his driveway on Tuesday, and KTNV-TV reported the automobile was towed away after police arrived on Wednesday.

German died of “a number of sharp pressure accidents,” the Clark County coroner mentioned, and the case was dominated a murder.