Las Vegas police search county official’s home after reporter’s death

LAS VEGAS — Five days after investigative reporter Jeff German was fatally stabbed outside his Las Vegas home, police executed search warrants at the home of an elected official who’d been the subject of German’s reporting that uncovered claims of bullying and retaliation.

Officers descended on the two-story home of Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles around 7 a.m. Wednesday, searching the nearly 3,000-square-foot property in western Las Vegas for more than six hours before a red GMC Yukon Denali was towed away.

The GMC, which had been parked in Telles’ driveway, matched the description of a vehicle police say could be linked to German’s killing: A 2007 to 2014 red or maroon Denali with chrome handles, a sunroof and roof racks.

Wednesday’s search unfolded less than 24 hours after the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department released the vehicle description, along with a surveillance photo, at a news conference where police Capt. Dori Koren reassured the public that investigators were working “non-stop” to solve the case. 

The Las Vegas Review-Journal, where German had worked for decades, was the first to report the search early Wednesday.

LVMPD confirmed Wednesday that it was “currently serving search warrants” but declined to further comment. Not long after police had wrapped up their search, Telles was dropped off in a white sedan, wearing a white jumpsuit as he ignored reporters camped out on his street. 

Telles, who was up for reelection this year, lost his Democratic primary in June. His term ends in January.

German, 69, was found dead Sept. 3 with stab wounds outside his home, about five miles from Telles’ home, according to police. Authorities believe he was killed a day earlier during an altercation in the “late morning hours.”