Last summer, a bomb exploded at the LA County Sheriff’s Department training facility, killing three bomb squad detectives. Now, the LA County district attorney’s office is considering whether to file criminal charges in their deaths.
An arson and explosives team found two abandoned bombs in the garage of a Santa Monica apartment on July 17. The explosives were then transported to the Biscailuz Center Training Academy in LA, where one of the bombs detonated the next day, killing Dets. Victor Lemus, Joshua Kelley-Eklund and William Osborn also noted the department’s worst incident in more than 150 years.
Sheriff’s homicide detectives, shortly after the explosion, focused their attention on a former special forces operative who allegedly left the bombs at a Santa Monica warehouse, according to two law enforcement sources at the time. The residence was where he or a significant other lived, according to those sources.
Nicole Nishida, spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Department, confirmed that detectives from the department sent the district attorney’s office on April 23 a criminal investigation into the bombing.
Information about who could be charged in the deputies’ deaths or possession of explosives — or any charges they might face — was not available. But the search warrants focused on the source of the bombs.
In the days after the explosion, detectives and bomb disposal experts, using search warrants, searched the yacht and storage facility in Marina del Rey. A law enforcement robot was used to search a collection of storage areas in the backyard of Shores’ apartment and was seen removing items.
The yacht is tied to a former US special operations member turned stunt coordinator, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
The explosion sparked a series of investigations into what happened that day, including an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives into the cause of the explosion. Within the Sheriff’s Department, there are also two ongoing criminal investigations – one into the deputy’s death and the second into the disappearance of the bomb. After the explosion, sheriff’s officials said the second device was missing.
The ATF investigation has been completed but has not been released due to the ongoing investigation, a law enforcement source said Tuesday.
In March, The Times revealed that a third criminal investigation was underway into the distribution of crime scene photos of detectives. The commander was relieved of duty in connection with that investigation.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s investigation into the explosion found that, leading up to the incident, there was a series of “intentional” safety violations by the Department of Officials, including failure to provide effective training and the presence of unattended explosives. That investigation resulted in eight citations and more than $350,000 in fines, according to records from the federal agency reviewed by The Times. The Sheriff’s Department said it has passed on the findings.
The deadly explosion began as a routine call, when members of the Sheriff’s bomb squad responded to a Santa Monica apartment complex after a resident found bombs, apparently left by a previous tenant, placed in their storage room.
The explosives, described by law enforcement sources as military-grade hand grenades, were taken from the 800 block of Bay Street while the bomb squad was assisting Santa Monica police on a call.
According to a legal complaint filed by Lemus’ widow, two other deputies, Kelley-Eklund and Osborn, made a call to a truck that “contained material of a lower quality than what would have been contained in a truck bomb. Osborn used an old X-ray machine to examine the explosive. Osborn then falsely reported to Santa Monica police that the device was not working, the legal complaint says. “Osborn’s reliance to X-ray meant that he would not take the necessary steps to make the device safe.”
The next day, the bombs were taken to a training center, where “live fireworks are not allowed,” the lawsuit said. “Deputies used one to demonstrate training.”
