Telles was an individual of curiosity early within the investigation as authorities seemed into doable work-related grievances or conflicts, Las Vegas police Capt. Dori Koren mentioned at a news convention Thursday. He didn’t disclose a particular motive.
Upon a search of Telles’s residence, police recovered a pair of sneakers and a straw hat that matched these worn in a beforehand launched picture of the suspect, police mentioned Thursday. Both gadgets had been lower, most likely in an try to destroy proof, Koren mentioned. He added that Telles’s DNA was a constructive match for DNA recovered from the crime scene.
“Telles was upset about articles that were being written by German as an investigative journalist that exposed potential wrongdoing, and Telles has publicly expressed his issues with that reporting,” Koren mentioned Thursday.
A well known journalist in Nevada, German covered the unrest in Telles’s workplace, his alleged relationship with a subordinate staffer, and allegations that the county official’s workers had made towards him, which included bullying, favoritism and emotional stress. In June, Telles conceded a Democratic main race for the put up to his deputy and criticized German’s reporting on Twitter.
“Looking forward to lying smear piece #4 by @JGermanRJ,” Telles wrote in a June 18 tweet. “#onetrickpony I think he’s mad that I haven’t crawled into a hole and died.”
In the weeks earlier than German was killed, he was planning a follow-up report on Telles, the Review-Journal said. He had been ready on a public-records request.
“We are relieved Telles is in custody and outraged that a colleague appears to have been killed for reporting on an elected official,” Review-Journal Executive Editor Glenn Cook mentioned to the paper. “Journalists can’t do the important work our communities require if they are afraid a presentation of facts could lead to violent retribution.”
Fifty journalists and media employees worldwide have been killed this yr, in keeping with data from the Committee to Protect Journalists. Those deaths included individuals who died throughout harmful assignments and people who appeared to have been focused.
German is the one reported loss of life of a journalist or media employee within the United States this yr; since 1992, 16 have been killed throughout the nation.
One of the worst assaults on an American newspaper was in 2018, when a gunman killed 5 folks and wounded a number of others on the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Md. The gunman had beforehand misplaced a defamation lawsuit towards the newspaper for its 2011 reporting on a legal harassment cost towards him. Prosecutors argued that he was out for “revenge,” and the jury discovered him criminally chargeable for the rampage.
In a statement to the Review-Journal, German’s household mentioned they had been “shocked, saddened and angry about his death.”
“Jeff was committed to seeking justice for others and would appreciate the hard work by local police and journalists in pursuing his killer,” the assertion mentioned. “We look forward to seeing justice done in this case.”
Recounting the timeline of the incident, Koren mentioned German had an altercation with the suspect round 11 a.m. Friday close to the aspect of his residence, after which he was stabbed a number of instances.
For many years, German lined labor, courts, organized crime, political scandals and extra in Las Vegas, becoming a member of the Review-Journal in 2010 after spending greater than 20 years on the Las Vegas Sun. His colleagues remembered him as a fierce journalist who was dedicated to his craft.
Over the course of his profession, German turned identified for his investigative work and protection of high-profile tales on politics and arranged crime. He wrote the 2001 true-crime e-book “Murder in Sin City: The Death of a Las Vegas Casino Boss,” and he led the paper’s investigation of the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, the deadliest in trendy U.S. historical past. He hosted the Review-Journal podcast “Mobbed Up.”
Cook advised The Washington Post in an announcement that German had not shared with administration any considerations about his security. Police mentioned there was no risk to the general public after the stabbing, the Review-Journal reported.
On Monday, police launched a surveillance picture of the individual suspected of killing German. It confirmed an individual sporting a big straw hat and an orange reflective shirt. The subsequent day, police launched a photograph of the car linked to the suspect: a maroon GMC Yukon Denali.
After police launched the car picture on Tuesday, Review-Journal reporters noticed Telles standing subsequent to an identical car in his driveway. The GMC and a second car had been towed away from Telles’s property on Wednesday afternoon, the Review-Journal reported.
On Thursday, Koren mentioned the GMC was registered to Telles’s spouse, and police had video proof that confirmed the car departing round 9 a.m. on the day of the killing and returning after midday, matching the incident timeline.
Early Wednesday afternoon, Telles arrived at his residence, sporting what seemed to be a white hazmat go well with, movies posted online by reporters present.
“Did you commit this murder?” one reporter requested on the video. “Did you do this?”
As reporters continued asking questions, Telles silently walked into the storage and closed it.
Local news shops reported an hours-long standoff at Telles’s residence later Wednesday. Videos posted on-line confirmed SWAT group members outdoors the home and somebody on a stretcher being taken to an ambulance. During Thursday’s news convention, police mentioned Telles had self-inflicted, non-life-threatening accidents, however they didn’t disclose additional particulars.
The investigation is ongoing and stays a precedence for Las Vegas police, officers mentioned.
“Every murder is tragic, but the killing of a journalist is particularly troublesome,” Sheriff Joseph Lombardo mentioned.
In remembrance of German, Review-Journal editorial cartoonist Michael Ramirez created a piece titled “His light will shine on.”
The cartoon exhibits a typewriter illuminated by the halo of a candle alongside a Bible verse: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
Elahe Izadi contributed to this report.