Robert Telles seeks hearing over Las Vegas judge’s response to jury’s ‘deadlocked’ note

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Robert Telles, the former Clark County politician convicted for murdering Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German, wants a hearing to determine if a judge violated his rights when a jury told her it was deadlocked.

On. Aug 28, the jury convicted Telles and ordered him to serve a sentence of 20 years to life.

After the trial, several jurors spoke to the 8 News Now Investigators about their private deliberations, which spanned three days.

Juror No. 6, who first spoke with the 8 News Now Investigators the Friday after the trial and requested her identity remain anonymous, said the jury told Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt that it was deadlocked at a crucial point in its deliberations.

“We informed the judge that it was 11 to one, we’re a hung jury, and the marshal came back and informed us what the judge said was to keep working,” the juror said.

In the filing Thursday, Telles’ attorney, Robert Draskovich, requests Leavitt “order an evidentiary hearing to question the jury regarding the above factual issues so that the record can be clarified, supplemented, and protected,” documents said.

Specifically, Telles requested “a clarification of the record of any communication, via juror question” regarding what, if anything, a “message from the judge” said about continuing to deliberate.

“This is not an attempt to point fingers at former jurors,” Draskovich said. “It was clear that throughout the course of the trial the members of the jury were conscientious, attentive and diligent.”

Telles also requested the hearing addressing a juror’s comment about the weather the day of German’s murder and “[noting] that the significance of the decision for journalism’s sake was not lost on her.”

A hearing on Telles’ motion to clarify was scheduled for Oct. 2. Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt will sentence Telles on enhancements regarding his charges – the fact that he used a deadly weapon, and that German was older than 60 years old – on Oct. 16.

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