Telles, 45, was charged with first degree murder with a deadly weapon in the Sept. 2 slaying of a German man outside his Las Vegas home. In a criminal complaint filed in Clark County on Monday, prosecutors alleged Telles was “willful, deliberate and premeditated” in targeting the 69-year-old. German had written several articles about Telles’ alleged misconduct as the county’s public administrator, a position for which he had recently lost a re-election bid. The public official, who is still technically being paid for his role before his term expires in December, was seen standing in the doorway of a Clark County courtroom for his arraignment Tuesday, smiling with bandages wrapped around his forearms. During the brief hearing, Telles’ lawyers asked for a continuance – meaning he will be back in court next Tuesday. Tells is currently being held without bond in the Clark County Jail and faces up to life in prison. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson told reporters outside the courtroom that prosecutors plan to ask for a “very high” bond and that Telles “poses a flight risk and a danger to the community.” Criminal defense attorney Ozzie Fumo, who was called to help authorities get Telles to leave his home Wednesday to turn himself in, told the Daily Beast he went to see Telles in jail Saturday. “He was still on suicide watch,” Fumo said via text message Monday. “I only spent a few minutes with him. I confirmed with him that he gave my name to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to contact me. I explained to him that I would not be able to represent his case.” Telles’ defense attorney, Travis Settler, could not be reached for comment. While prosecutors are still sketching out a full motive, Deputy Attorney General Richard Scow connected German’s account of Telles to the killing during a hearing last week. “Published articles about a public figure, the office of the public administrator, have gone bad [Telles’] political career, probably his marriage, and that was him attacking the cause,” Scow said. Las Vegas Metro Police Chief Dory Coren added last week that “Tells was upset about the articles being written by German as an investigative reporter uncovering possible wrongdoing, and Tells had publicly expressed his problems with that. report”. “And, ultimately, Tells was also upset—from what we later learned—that there were additional reports pending,” Koren said. The sordid saga that sent shockwaves through Las Vegas and the media community began around 11:18 am. on September 2. The complaint says surveillance footage shows a suspect in a straw hat and reflective shirt entering German’s pedestrian gate. A few minutes later, German’s garage door opens and he appears to step outside. “The German approached the pedestrian gate and was immediately attacked,” an arrest report for Telles states. “The German fell to the ground and never got up again.” The report adds that “the suspect got up and calmly walked east, away from [German’s] place of residence.” Authorities believe Telles wore a disguise “to conceal his identity and avoid involvement in the murder.” A medical examiner concluded that the German suffered seven stab wounds and had defensive marks on his hands and arms. The arrest report also notes that Telles’ DNA was found under the journalists’ fingernails. A neighbor, Jay Samps, told The Daily Beast that his home security camera captured the man police identified as Tells pacing back and forth outside his home at the time of the killing at the northwest corner of Bronze Circle and Wintergreen. Drive. Sabs added that the video showed a maroon Yukon — which authorities eventually linked to Telles — driving past his home. A man is also seen in the video pacing for about 10 to 15 minutes. The arrest report states that when officers spoke with Telles’ wife, she said she could not reach him on his cell phone on the day of the incident. Telles was questioned by police last Wednesday, voluntarily handing over clothes to investigators. Wolfson told reporters that after the conversation, investigators “rushed” a test on his DNA. Tells was arrested that night after an hours-long standoff during which he barricaded himself in his home and police called Fumo to get their man to surrender. Telles suffered “self-inflicted injuries” during the incident and was briefly treated at a local hospital. If you or a loved one is struggling with suicidal thoughts, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Text Crisis Line by texting TALK to 741741. You can also text or call 988.
