LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Testimony witness concluded on Friday in the murder trial of Robert Telles.
Telles is the former Clark County public administrator accused of killing Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German nearly two years ago.
Prosecutors believe articles German wrote about Telles was a motive in the killing.
WATCH | Former Clark County District Attorney, David Roger, weighs in on the state of the case — touching on juror questions, Telles' remarks, and what we could expect moving forward.
On Friday, retired Las Vegas Metro Police detective Clifford Mogg was called back to the stand.
Prosecutor Christopher Hamner asked him about the photos taken of the messages on the Apple watch of Telles' wife and how they appeared to be deleted on Telles' phone.
Mogg testified he was made aware they were deleted on Telles' phone.
Then, Telles began his redirect testimony faced towards the jurors and once again stated he believes he's being framed.
"I am innocent," Telles maintained. "I'm not the kind of person who could brutally murder another man."
Hamner continued to grill Telles on Friday, poking holes in his narrative testimony, which was subject to prosecution scrutiny.
"Isn't there a slide from August 1st to August 31st talking about location data on your phone?" asked Hamner. "It was a blank slate, right?"
At the center of Friday's testimony was Telles' recount of events on the day German was killed.
Telles told jurors on Wednesday he was making chicken fried rice for his daughter from a Google recipe on the day German was killed.
SEE MORE | FOLLOW OUR LIVE UPDATES OF THE TRIAL HERE
He claimed there was a deep cut on his finger found at the time of his arrest because a knife cut the tip of his finger while making the fried rice.
Hamner called back Metro Forensic Lab Supervisor Matthew Hovanec who previously testified about reviewing downloaded data from Telles' phone.
Hovanec told jurors there were no results found on Telles' phone the day of German's murder for the terms "recipe" or "fried rice."
But Telles' attorney Robert Draskovich countered, asking if those terms were searched on Telles' other electronic devices.
Hovanec testified no.
Channel 13 has gotten a lot of inquiries about Telles' choice to testify.
So we spoke to criminal defense attorney Malcom LaVergne about the strategy.
| "There has been no bigger witness for the prosecution's case than Mr. Telles choosing to get up and testify on his own behalf," said LaVergne. "This is the problem with testifying with you're a defendant. A lot of things can come in that wouldn't have if it wasn't for Mr. Telles testifying." |
Telles told the jury over and over again throughout his testimony that "he did not kill Mr. German."
On Friday, he showed discouraged and despondent expressions.
Jurors were seen taking their final notes on the last day of testimony.
Friday's proceedings ended with an in-chambers meeting behind closed doors between the judge and attorneys.
The jury could begin deliberations as soon as Monday afternoon.
