The widow of LA County Sheriff’s Deputy Victor Lemus, one of three deputies killed in a grenade explosion a year ago, filed a lawsuit against the county this week, expanding allegations that her husband’s death was preventable and the result of negligence.
Lemus along with Deputies Joshua Kelley-Eklund and William Osborn were killed on July 18, 2025 when a hand grenade Osborn and Kelley-Eklund had retrieved from an apartment building storage unit in Santa Monica detonated while the three were in the parking lot of the sheriff’s department’s Biscailuz Training Center in East Los Angeles.
The lawsuit, filed by Nancy Lemus on behalf of herself and the couple’s children, says Lemus had been assigned to the sheriff’s Arson and Explosives Unit for about a year at the time of the explosion but had yet to attend the initial required explosives training at the FBI and was not supposed to be in “the immediate presence of live explosive devices.”
The suit alleges that Kelley-Eklund and Osborn had collected two hand grenades at the Santa Monica location the night before the explosion and says the deputies used an “older x-ray machine” to examine the grenades, which incorrectly suggested they were inert or contained no explosive material.
On the morning of July 18, the lawsuit says Lemus joined the other deputies when they used one of the grenades, which was a live explosive, as a training device.
The suit says one of the others pulled the pin of the grenade.
“The device exploded, killing Victor Lemus, as well as themselves,” according to the complaint.
The sheriff’s department did not comment directly on the allegations in the lawsuit or in similar legal claims Lemus filed earlier this year but remarked on the status of the investigation and its aftermath a year later.
“Our fallen detectives exemplified the very best of this Department and one year later we continue to mourn their loss, honor their service, and support the families they left behind,” Sheriff Robert Luna said in a statement Friday.
“Since the tragic incident, the Department is implementing several measures to further strengthen operational safety, including standardizing policies and procedures to ensure greater organizational consistency, introducing new equipment, and refining supervisory response protocols based on the nature of each incident,” the statement said.
The LA County District Attorney’s Office said this week it was continuing to review evidence against a man suspected of possessing the grenades and storing them at the Santa Monica building, possibly years before they were discovered.
Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau detectives presented their investigative findings against the man in April, who NBCLA isn’t naming because he has not been charged or publicly accused of wrongdoing.
The sheriff’s department said Friday “all investigations” into the explosion are active and open.
“Sheriff’s Homicide investigators are continuing their death investigation into the loss of our Arson Explosive Detail Detectives, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has the lead on the post-blast investigation to determine the origin and cause of the explosion and the whereabouts of the second device,” the department said.
Lemus’ lawsuit also alleges that a sheriff’s department commander took souvenir photographs of the explosion scene, including the remains of Lemus, and accused the county of intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The sheriff’s department said in March it had opened a criminal investigation into the photo allegations, and said a commander once assigned to a unit associated with the bomb squad had been relieved of duty.
“If the investigation reveals evidence that misconduct occurred and policies were violated, then the appropriate action will be taken,” the Department said.