Ex-politician pleads not guilty in Vegas reporter killing
By KEN RITTER
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Prosecutors say a former Las Vegas-area politician won’t face the death penalty at trial in the killing of a veteran investigative journalist who wrote articles critical of him and his managerial conduct. Robert Telles, a Democrat now stripped of his elected position, pleaded not guilty Wednesday after being indicted in the Sept. 2 stabbing death of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German. Telles’ new attorney, Ryan Helmick, declined outside court to comment. Telles is 45. No trial date was set. Telles faces the possibility of life in prison without parole. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson says he concluded there were no qualifying aggravating factors to make Telles’ trial a capital case.