Democratic Las Vegas official arrested in murder of journalist Jeff German

A public official who was the focus of stories written by slain Las Vegas investigative reporter Jeff German was arrested in the case Wednesday on suspicion of murder, according to a report.

Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles was taken into custody after authorities searched his home for hours earlier Wednesday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported, citing county Sheriff Joe Lombardo.

Before his arrest, Telles was questioned by police as they conducted the search. When he returned to his home Wednesday evening, he refused to answer questions from reporters as he made his way inside, according to video posted to Twitter by Review-Journal reporter Brett Clarkson.

Soon after, around 6 p.m., his home was surrounded by police officers in tactical gear while he remained inside, according to the Review-Journal, where German worked before he was killed Friday. The news outlet reported 30 minutes later that Telles was wheeled out on a stretcher and dumped into an ambulance.

Telles lost a Democratic primary in June, due in part to German’s investigative stories about his conduct in office, the report said. Some of the allegations against Telles included “emotional stress, bullying, and favoritism,” according to the outlet.

German was reportedly also working on a possible follow-up story about Telles before he was stabbed to death.

Telles tweeted multiple times about the reporter and his articles, writing in a June 18 Twitter post: “Looking forward to lying smear piece #4 by @JGermanRJ. #onetrickpony I think he’s mad that I haven’t crawled into a hole and died.”

Police originally showed up at Telles’ home around 6:30 a.m. local time and said hours later they were serving search warrants connected to the homicide.

German, 69, was found dead Saturday morning — a day after he was stabbed during an altercation, police said.

The esteemed reporter, who uncovered political corruption in the area for decades, did not communicate to his bosses at the Las Vegas Review-Journal that there were any threats against him or that he was concerned for his safety before his death, the newspaper’s executive editor said Sunday.