LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — After nearly two years, justice was served for Jeff German, the Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter who was brutally stabbed to death outside his home.
German was killed on September 2, 2022.
On Wednesday, a Clark County jury found former county public administrator Robert Telles guilty of murdering German.
Before the jury deliberated on Telles' sentencing, impact statements were given by German's family.
Throughout the trial, a group of about a dozen of German's family members have been attending every court proceeding. This was the first time hearing from them and learning more about German as a person.
WATCH | The family of Jeff German speak on who Jeff was as a person.
German was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and moved to Las Vegas in 1978.
He was the oldest of four siblings.
RELATED STORY | Joe Moeller and Steve Sebelius look back on the life and legacy of Jeff German
His two sisters, Jill Zwerg and Julie Smith, and his brother Jay German, testified in court.
His brother Jay remembers Jeff German as a natural athlete who taught him how to play golf. His older brother took him to his first Milwaukee Brewers game and they went to a lot of movies together.
"I wouldn't want anyone to go through this," Jay told jurors about his brother's murder. "It was devastating to the family. It really was. We loved him."
Zwerg and Smith told jurors he was a "fantastic uncle" who never forgot birthdays.
"The tragic and brutal taking of his life has resulted in a loss that I don't think we'll ever recover," Smith said.
German was a respected journalist in the Las Vegas valley covering mobs and exposing corruption.
"He wrote about wrongdoings by mobsters, gaming officials, politicians, corporations, basically anyone who was corrupt," said Zwerg. "I don't think they could hide from him."
Zwerg said the past two years felt like living in a story German could've wrote.
"These past two years felt like I’ve been living in a chapter of a murder novel one that my brother Jeff could’ve wrote called Murder in Sin City Part Two: The Death of a Journalist," said Zwerg.
"I never imagined Jeff, himself, would become a national news story for his murder from a cold-blooded city elected official in broad daylight. But in typical Jeff fashion, he was able to have his attacker identified and locked up behind bars."
Telles was seen shaking his head showing no remorse when his verdict was read. But he began breaking down when his own family members testified on his behalf before the sentencing deliberation.
His family has not been coming to trial. But on Wednesday, his wife Mary Ann Ismael, his ex-wife Tonia Burton and his mother Rosalinda Anaya all pleaded to jurors to give the former politician turned murderer a second chance.
WATCH | The family of Robert Telles giving their testimony on Wednesday.
Telles has three children; a stepson, a daughter from a previous marriage and a daughter from his current marriage.
Both Ismael and Burton testified that he's a "great father."
"Even to this day he tries to stay involved with the kids," said Ismael. "I would love for my children to not lose that, at least not for the rest of their lives."
Telles was seen mouthing the words "I love you" to Ismael as she got off the witness stand.
Anaya told jurors about how Telles grew up in El Paso, Texas. She said she had Telles when she was 18 years old.
When Telles was 13, Anaya said she got a divorce and he became the "man of the house."
She took a moment to ask the judge if she could ask the jurors one final plea.
"I ask you to, please," said Anaya. "I accept the verdict. Please give my son a chance of parole. His family is still very young."
Before Anaya walked out of the courtroom after her testimony, she turned to Telles and said, "I love you, son" before walking out of the courtroom weeping.
The jury returned a sentencing verdict of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years. But because of the enhancements of the charge in this case, Telles faces an additional 1-8 years in prison on top of his sentence, according to his attorney Robert Draskovich.
The sentencing for the enhancements is scheduled to take place October 16 at 8:30 a.m.
"I'm relieved they gave life with the possibility of parole," said Draskovich. "Since the get-go, since my involvement in this case, Telles has maintained his innocence. He, I'm sure, intends to pursue an appeal."
Draskovich said he did also speak with jurors in the case who he said found "great concern" with the close-up screen grab of the surveillance video he showed during closing arguments, but the jurors said they found Telles' narrative testimony concerning.
Channel 13 also had a chance to speak with Chief Deputy District Attorneys Christopher Hamner and Pamela Weckerly, the prosecutors in this case.
"Every case is unique. Every case has its own set of facts," said Hamner. "It just so happened in this scenario there was an individual in our community that was offended by what someone wrote and went to this length to seek retribution for it."
We also asked Hamner and Weckerly if a plea deal was offered to Telles before trial, they told Channel 13 they could not negotiate because Telles remained steadfast he was innocent.
Channel 13 also spoke with Kevin Cannon, a photographer at the Las Vegas Review-Journal and a longtime friend of German.
"We've been friends for a long time," said Cannon. "It's been a tough couple weeks. It's been a tough couple years. Justice was served. I know he'd be proud."
German would've turned 71 last Friday.
