By Stephen Witt
Governor Gavin Newsom and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis this weekend mourned the deaths of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) Detectives Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Victor Lemus, and William Osborn, who died Friday in an explosion at Biscailuz Training Facility in the unincorporated area of City Terrace in East Los Angeles.
The fallen deputies were all veterans assigned to the Arson Explosives Detail and served a combined 74 years with the department. Between them, they leave behind 16 children and devastated families.
“Detectives Kelley-Eklund, Lemus, and Osborn proudly served the Los Angeles community with courage and honor. We are holding their families and the entire Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in our hearts. We will never forget their service to our communities and their sacrifice,” said Newsome and Kounalakis in a joint statement.
The incident unfolded shortly after 7:30 am, Friday, July 18, and remains under investigation.
According to media reports, the LASD’s bomb squad responded to a Santa Monica garage where at least one grenade was found on Thursday. The grenade was transported to the sheriff’s Biscailuz Training Facility, where it appears the fallen detectives were working to render it safe, and it exploded.
A LASD spokesperson told reporters the explosion occurred in the parking lot of the Special Enforcement Bureau at the facility. It appeared work was being done to render the recovered grenade safe before it exploded, law enforcement agents said.
Following the Friday morning explosion, a task force consisting of the Los Angeles Police Department Bomb Squad, ATF, FBI and LASD returned to the Santa Monica neighborhood to serve a search warrant to find any additional explosive materials, LASD said.
Investigators have not determined if the devices found in the Santa Monica garage yesterday had any correlation to Friday’s explosion, according to LASD. Law enforcement evacuated residents in the complex and is trying to locate a shelter.
Kelley-Eklund joined the LASD in March 2006. He was later assigned to the Pitchess Detention Center North and North County Correctional Facility, then transferred to Lennox Sheriff Station in 2010 and became a Field Training Officer at South Los Angeles Station.
In 2016, Detective Kelley-Eklund was assigned to the LA Impact Team in the Narcotics Bureau. In 2022, he became an Arson and Explosive Investigator with the Special Enforcement Bureau.
Detective Kelley-Eklund is survived by his wife, Jessica Eklund and their seven children.
Detective Lemus joined the LASD on July 1, 2003. He completed the Deputy Sheriff Academy in 2003 before he was assigned to Twin Towers Correctional Facility. He transferred to Century Station, where he worked as a Senior Training Officer and Detective. He moved to the Special Enforcement Bureau in 2017 where he was assigned as a K-9 Handler before becoming an Arson and Explosive Investigator last year.
Detective Lemus is survived by his wife, Sheriff’s Department Detective Nancy Lemus, three daughters, and his siblings. His three sisters are also employed by the Department, in addition to his brother-in-law.
Detective Osborn graduated from the Deputy Sheriff Academy in February 1992 before being assigned to Men’s Central Jail. He then transferred to Pico Rivera Station in 1998 as a Patrol Deputy. He moved to Industry Station in 2001 and was promoted to Detective.
After working as a detective for over a decade, he transferred to the Training Bureau as an Emergency Vehicle Operations Center Instructor in 2016. Detective Osborn later joined the Special Enforcement Bureau as an Arson and Explosive Investigator in 2019.
He is survived by his wife, Detective Shannon Rincon, four sons, and two daughters.
In honor of Detectives Kelley-Eklund, Lemus, and Osborn, flags at the State Capitol and Capitol Annex Swing Space will be flown at half-staff.
