By Aaron Miler-
A Las Vegas investigative reporter was stabbed to death outside his home, authorities said.
The stabbing of the 69-year-old Jeff German followed an altercation with another person which was believed believe to be an isolated incident, police said. Las Vegas police officers found Jeff German dead with stab wounds around 10.30am on Saturday
“We believe the altercation took place outside of the home,” a Las Vegas police spokesman, told reporters. “We do have some leads. We are pursuing a suspect but the suspect is outstanding.”
Police said the investigation was a top priority.
“LVMPD enacted its major case protocol [on] Saturday in the homicide investigation,” police said. “This brings together a variety of resources to maximize the investigative effort and apply a sense of urgency to the apprehension of the suspect.”
Police captain Dori Koren said: “We do have some leads. We are pursuing a suspect but the suspect is outstanding.”(at large)
City mayor Carolyn Goodman described it as “a senseless act of violence”, saying her office would be “closely following” the investigation.
Glenn Cook, the Review-Journal executive editor, said German had not communicated any concerns about his safety or any threats made against him to newspaper leaders.
“The Review-Journal family is devastated to lose Jeff,” Cook said. “He was the gold standard of the news business. It’s hard to imagine what Las Vegas would be like today without his many years of shining a bright light on dark places.”
German joined the Review-Journal in 2010 after more than two decades at the Las Vegas Sun, where he was a columnist and reporter who covered courts, politics, labor, government and organized crime.
He was reputed for stories about government malfeasance and political scandals, as well as coverage of the 2017 mass shooting at a music festival that killed 60 and wounded more than 400. He generally covered a reporter who organized crime, extremist activity in southern Nevada, and gaming industry corruption.
A former Vegas Sun reporter, Cathy Scott, recalled how she and German were the first reporters to break the story of the killing of a Las Vegas mafia associate, Herbert “Fat Herbie” Blitzstein, in 1997.
“He was a hard news guy,” Ms Scott said of Mr German to the Review Journal”. He worked hard and had tons of sources … a dyed-in-the-wool newsman. That’s who he was. He was dedicated to the craft.”
More recently, Mr German revealed how executives at a Las Vegas government agency had spent lavishly on expenses and allegedly abused thousands of dollars’ worth of airline gift cards; how a county prosecutor covered up embezzlement against his political campaign by one of his aides; and how a lethal apartment fire was preceded by a string of safety