Procession held for LASD deputies killed in explosion at training facility

Procession for LASD deputies killed in explosion

The explosion last Friday killed Los Angeles County detectives Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Victor Lemus, and William Osborn.

LOS ANGELES - The bodies of the three Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detectives killed in last week's explosion in East Los Angeles were removed from a medical examiner's facility Friday in a somber procession of officers and law enforcement vehicles.

The flag-draped coffins of sheriff's detectives Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Victor Lemus and William Osborn, all of whom worked for the department's Arson Explosives Detail, were placed into awaiting hearses as another flag flew atop an extended fire department ladder.

Funeral services for the fallen deputies are pending.

The backstory:

The blast occurred at 7:25 a.m. Friday, July 18 at the Biscailuz Regional Training Center in the 1000 block of North Eastern Avenue. 

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Sheriff Robert Luna confirmed that detectives Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Victor Lemus, and William Osborn, all from the Special Enforcement Bureau's Arson Explosives Detail, were killed in the explosion. They had more than 70 years of combined experience with the department. 

It is suspected the detectives were killed when evidence collected a day earlier from a Santa Monica apartment building storage bin exploded in the training center's parking lot. 

The sheriff's department confirmed that detectives recovered items that appeared to be grenades at the Bay Street location in Santa Monica. Investigators said they are following all leads and evidence to determine the origin of the devices located in Santa Monica.

The department has confirmed that they are investigating this case as a negligent homicide, meaning criminal charges could be brought against the person who owned the grenades. 

Dig deeper:

The explosion marks the largest loss of life for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department since 1857, when Sheriff James Barton and members of his posse were ambushed.

Detective Joshua Kelley-Eklund joined the LASD in March 2006. He became a field training officer and was promoted to detective in the Narcotics Bureau in 2016. In 2022, he became an arson and explosive investigator with the Special Enforcement Bureau, receiving bomb tech certifications. He is survived by his wife, Jessica Eklund, and their seven children.

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Victor Lemus joined the LASD on July 1, 2003. He worked at Twin Towers Correctional Facility and later transferred to the Century station, where he was a senior training officer and detective. He joined the Special Enforcement Bureau in 2017 as a K-9 handler before becoming an arson and explosive investigator last year. He is survived by his wife, LASD Detective Nancy Lemus, three daughters, and other family members in the department. 

William Osborn graduated from the Sheriff's Academy in February 1992. He served as a patrol deputy and was promoted to detective, receiving commendations for recovering stolen vehicles. In 2016, he transferred to the Training Bureau as an Emergency Vehicle Operations Center instructor, returning to detective work in 2019 as an arson and explosive investigator with the Special Enforcement Bureau. He was described as a "tenured bomb technician." He is survived by his wife, Detective Shannon Rincon, four sons, and two daughters.

What's next:

The investigation into the explosion is ongoing, conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, and the sheriff's department. 

No arrests have been made.