LAS VEGAS, NV — A Clark County official was taken into custody Wednesday in connection with the stabbing death of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German, whose investigative work may have contributed to the official's June election loss, according to police and reports.

Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles, 45, was taken into custody by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department a day after authorities released an image of a vehicle tied to the suspect and asked for the public's help identifying its owner.

Telles was scheduled to appear in court Thursday and will likely be charged with open murder with a deadly weapon, CBS News reported.

"This has been an unusual case from the beginning," Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said at a Thursday news conference. "The killing of a journalist is particularly troublesome. We hope the arrest of Telles will provide a sense of justice for our community and for German’s family."

German, 69, was found stabbed to death outside his home Saturday morning, police said. During Thursday's news conference, Las Vegas police Capt. Dori Koren said a suspect carrying a duffel bag and wearing an orange safety vest with reflective stripes and a straw hat went to German's home and approached the journalist outside. An altercation ensued and German was stabbed multiple times, Koren said.

German was an investigative reporter whose work may have contributed to Telles' primary election loss in June. According to The New York Times, German's stories detailed claims that Telles, a Democrat, created a hostile work environment and engaged in an "inappropriate relationship" with a staff member.

German was pursuing a follow-up story on Telles before he was killed, the Review-Journal reported.

Police on Tuesday released a photo of a maroon GMC Denali they believed was connected to the suspect. On Thursday, Koren said a vehicle matching the one in the photo was found parked in front of Telles' house. It was registered in his wife's name, he said.

Telles was identified as a suspect early in the investigation, Koren said. Police questioned him prior to his arrest but released him because authorities did not have enough evidence to take him into custody, Koren said.

After obtaining a search warrant, police said they recovered a pair of shoes stained with blood and a straw hat from Telles' home. Investigators also found Telles' DNA at the crime scene, Koren said.

Telles was arrested at his home on Spanish Steps Lane. CBS affiliate KLAS reported Telles had multiple self-inflicted wounds and was taken to University Medical Center.

He is currently detained at the Clark County Detention Center, police said Thursday.

"The arrest of Robert Telles is at once an enormous relief and an outrage for the Review-Journal newsroom," Review-Journal Executive Editor Glenn Cook said in a statement. "We are relieved Telles is in custody and outraged that a colleague appears to have been killed for reporting on an elected official. Journalists can't do the important work our communities require if they are afraid a presentation of facts could lead to violent retribution."

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