LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — From narrative testimony to a video surprise during closing arguments, the trial of Robert Telles was unusual in many ways, and it raised many questions.
While reporting on Wednesday's verdict, I had the opportunity to pick the brain of one of Southern Nevada's great legal minds: former Clark County District Attorney David Roger.
Roger said he'd never seen a case like this where a journalist in our community lost his life participating in the accountability process both worked so hard to protect during their careers.
"As a former public official, I always believed that the media was the eyes and ears of the public," Roger said, remembering his friend Jeff German as a dogged reporter and tenacious journalist who was fiercely loyal to his craft — a career uncovering corruption and pursuing accountability for public officials like Telles.
 KTNV | "The fact that Jeff German was murdered in cold blood because he was doing his job is offensive and should chill every journalist in the country. Journalists will not shy away from doing their job but I think it is an eye-opener." |
Equally sobering, he says, were the lies Telles expected jurors to believe.
"I think that Telles testifying really hurt his case, simply because it is really far-fetched to believe that all of these people conspired to plant evidence and frame Robert Telles for this murder," Roger said. "You know, if you believed him, you'd have to believe that Compass Real Estate, the D.A.'s office, the police, and others were involved in planting evidence."
What is narrative testimony?
Telles' decision to present a narrative testimony, where he gave his version of events instead of responding to questions, allowed his lawyer, Robert Draskovich, to avoid suborning perjury. However, it also limited the attorney's ability to explore and question the state's evidence.
"Robert Draskovich could have argued that, hey, just because he had tennis shoes that were similar to the killer's tennis shoes doesn't mean that that was the only two pairs — or one pair of tennis shoes that Nike ever made. Same thing with the straw hat that the killer was wearing — Mr. Telles was wearing," Roger said. "You can go to any Star Nursery and find similar hats. So there were a lot of arguments to be made: an argument that there was no blood evidence in the vehicle or in Mr. Telles' house. Here was his children's sport bag that he used to put the bloody knife in and there was no blood in there."
After nearly 12 hours of deliberation over three days, jurors found Telles guilty of willful, deliberate and premeditated murder with a deadly weapon, with the added elements of "lying in wait" and elder abuse since Jeff German was over the age of 60.
Why wasn't the death penalty considered?
Telles will not face the death penalty.
"The courts and lawmakers have established what we call aggravating circumstances," Roger explained. "These are statutory factors that have to exist before the district attorney can even ask for the death penalty. And in this case, the closest aggravating circumstance, based on upon the facts, is torture, and the courts have said that torture has to be the intentional infliction of pain above and beyond the act of killing."
Other circumstances in Nevada law that qualify a crime for the death penalty include the killing of more than one person, killing someone while out on parole, killing during the course of a robbery or sexual assault, killing a child, killing a first responder, or mutilating the victim.
How much time could Telles spend behind bars?
Telles will face a sentence of life in prison with parole eligibility in 20 years. However, Judge Michelle Leavitt still has to factor in the enhanced circumstances of German's age and Telles' use of a deadly weapon.
Judge Leavitt can only choose one of those and can add from one to 20 years to Telles' sentence, so getting parole would not mean getting out of jail. Instead, he'd immediately start serving the enhancement sentence.
What's next?
The final sentencing hearing is scheduled for mid-October.
You can see our full coverage at ktnv.com/tellesontrial.