Former cop accused of killing Vegas reporter Jeff Herman to stand trial

The former government official accused of fatally shooting Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff Herman has been given the green light to represent himself in court, but the presiding judge warned he wouldn’t let him “treat it like a game.”

Accused killer Robert Telles will try his luck with the judiciary in a first-degree murder trial expected to begin later this year.

Telles is accused of stabbing Herman, 69, outside the journalist’s home in September, months after the ex-politician lost the primary and remained in his chosen seat.

Before the assassination, Herman wrote several articles detailing the turmoil in Telles’ office.

Although Telles is a lawyer, he has never handled criminal cases before and has mainly dealt with civil cases.

His license was suspended after his arrest.

“Do you understand that if you decide to represent yourself and you don’t get the result you like, you can’t say in the appeal: “Did I represent myself badly?” Telles was asked by Clark County Circuit Court Judge Michelle Leavitt in court. Tuesday.

“I understand that,” Telles replied.

“You are at risk of life without the possibility of parole,” the judge said. “This is not a game. I won’t let you treat this like a game.”

Telles was the third lawyer hired before being given the opportunity to represent himself. A lawyer on duty may be assigned to his case.

“I wish him the best in representing himself,” Damian Sheets, his latest lawyer, said after the judge’s decision.

Telles’ urge to represent himself comes after the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the former state administrator of Clark County put up for sale five rental properties in Arkansas.

After buying the property in 2019, Telles hopes to make about $200,000 in profit from the sale, the paper said.

According to a real estate website, the sale price of five properties in Hot Springs is $519,000.

It is not clear why he is trying to sell the property.

Telles maintained that he was innocent, but did not publicly provide evidence that contradicted the prosecution’s version.

He also did not explain where he was on the day of the assassination in a Feb. 14 interview with AP.

He said he plans to testify to the jury.

“So, since I’m going to do this, I think it’s going to be way beyond what I’ve been doing,” Telles said. “But right now, I couldn’t answer that question.

Prosecutors say Telles’ DNA was found under Herman’s nails, and pieces of the straw hat the killer wears in CCTV footage were found in Telles’ home.

He claims that the collected evidence was “planted”.

Shortly after Telles’ arrest, Las Vegas police said the murder suspect was upset to learn that Herman was investigating further alleged Democrat wrongdoing after the initial revelation in his office that led to his election loss.

Herman worked for the Vegas newspapers for 44 years and earned a reputation as a hardened reporter on organized crime and government corruption.

With mail wires

Content Source

News Press Ohio – Latest News:
Columbus Local News || Cleveland Local News || Ohio State News || National News || Money and Economy News || Entertainment News || Tech News || Environment News

Related Articles

Back to top button