Bomb squad deputy's widow files claim against LA County over deadly explosion

A legal claim from the widow of one of the deputies killed while handling a grenade last July alleges that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department failed to properly train her husband before the deadly explosion.

LASD Detective Nancy Lemus, the widow of Detective Victor Lemus, claimed the department failed to send her husband to the FBI's training program to learn how to handle explosives and did not provide "adequate in-house training" before he was assigned to the department's bomb squad. 

According to the Sheriff's Department, Victor Lemus transferred to the agency's Arson Explosives Detail in 2024 after serving as a K-9 Handler for roughly seven years. On July 18, 2025, he and two other deputies — Detectives Joshua Kelley-Eklund and William Osborn — died while handling two grenades, one of which exploded while the trio was in the parking lot of the Biscailuz Center Training Academy in East L.A.

In the claim, Nancy Lemus' attorneys alleged that Eklund and Osborn failed to follow departmental and legal mandates for handling explosives. 

A day before the deadly explosion, Eklund and Osborn responded to Santa Monica in personal work trucks rather than the department's bomb truck and retrieved two grenades, according to the claim. The attorneys claimed that the vehicles contained "lower quality equipment," which included an older X-ray machine that was used to incorrectly determine that the explosive was inert. 

Eklund and Osborn then drove the explosive in an improper container across LA County roadways to a private home, which violated departmental, state and federal policies. 

On July 18, they brought the grenade to the Biscailuz Center Training Academy "as a training tool" for Victor Lemus, "who lacked any formal training and was reliant on the expertise of Eklund and Osborn," according to the attorneys. 

The attorneys claimed Eklund or Osborn pulled the pin from the hand grenade before the deadly explosion. 

L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna described the blast as the deadliest day for the department since 1857. 

"Between all three sworn members, they had served our community proudly for 74 years," said Luna, who called the deputies "elite" and "fantastic experts" on LASD's Arson Explosives Detail in July 2025.

In a statement, the department said it received the claim, which is a legal precursor to filing a lawsuit against public agencies.

"We remain committed to thoroughly understanding the circumstances of this tragic incident and ensuring the safety of our personnel," LASD wrote. "The Department continues to mourn the loss of our three Arson Explosive Detail Detectives and remains committed to supporting their colleagues and families."

The Sheriff's Department said it consulted with the Los Angeles Police Department's bomb squad, the FBI, and the ATF to update its training manuals and guidelines following the explosion. Deputies are still investigating the deadly explosion. LASD added that the ATF's post-blast investigation is still ongoing.

Deputies have not located the second grenade that Eklund and Osborn seized last year.