Colleagues of a slain Las Vegas reporter have expressed relief about the sentencing of the onetime elected official who killed him.
A district court in Clark County, Nevada, on Wednesday sentenced Robert Telles, a former county public administrator, to 28 years in prison for murdering Jeff German.
A jury in August convicted Telles of stabbing German to death outside the reporter's home. German, who worked for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, had covered misconduct in Telles' office and had exposed a relationship the official was having with a co-worker.
Telles denied killing German, but prosecutors presented evidence at the trial, including his DNA under the journalist's fingernails.
"The judge couldn't sentence him to any more time," Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson told reporters, adding that the sentence represented justice for the community. "She gave him the maximum."
German's colleagues welcomed the sentencing.
"There is relief in the Las Vegas Review-Journal's offices because Robert Telles finally is headed to prison, hopefully for the rest of his life," the paper's executive editor, Glenn Cook, said in a statement shared with VOA.
"His [Telles'] steadfast refusal to accept responsibility or show a hint of remorse for the barbaric murder of Jeff German should ensure he is never paroled. We'll never forget Jeff. His killing remains an immeasurable loss for his family, friends, colleagues and community, and for journalism itself,” Cook said.
Telles is the first former elected official in the U.S. to be convicted of the murder of an American journalist.
He had been the subject of German's coverage of misconduct in 2022 and later lost a primary election for a second term.
Prosecutor Pamela Weckerly told the judge that evidence showed Telles killed German because "he didn't like what Mr. German had written about him. He felt that Mr. German had cost him an elected position."
"This type of violence, this sort of political violence," the prosecutor said, "is unacceptable and dangerous for a community as a whole."
The National Press Club in Washington said the sentence "marks a decisive victory for press freedom and a salient reminder that violence against journalists will never go unanswered."
"Those who seek to silence the vital work of journalists through brutality will face swift and severe consequences. The message should be clear: If you try to silence a journalist with violence, you will be arrested, convicted and sentenced to the full extent of the law," said club president Emily Wilkins.
The Committee to Protect Journalists described the case as a "significant milestone in the quest for justice."
"German's murder by a county politician is a stark reminder of the dangers that journalists – especially local reporters worldwide – face simply for doing their jobs and reporting on matters of public interest," said Katherine Jacobsen, who covers the U.S. for the media watchdog.
When he appeared before the judge on Wednesday, Telles offered condolences to German's family but denied any wrongdoing.
German, 69, had built a solid reputation as an investigative reporter in Las Vegas, where he focused on crime and corruption. He was found stabbed outside his home on September 2, 2022.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
