The federal investigation surrounding the missing grenade from the July 18, 2025 explosion that killed three Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department detectives has moved deeper into LASD’s executive ranks.
Multiple sources tell The Current Report that an LASD executive was interviewed by federal investigators on Monday regarding the circumstances surrounding the missing second grenade and events that unfolded after the fatal explosion at the Biscailuz Training Center.
Another LASD executive is scheduled to be interviewed next week, according to sources with direct knowledge of the investigation.
The latest development is significant because it indicates federal investigators are continuing to examine what happened after the explosion, including what LASD leadership knew about the missing grenade and how the department responded once questions arose about its whereabouts.
The Investigation Moves Up the Chain
Last month, The Current Report reported that multiple credible sources had identified the LASD member they allege was involved with the removal of the second grenade from one of the deceased detectives’ homes and later disposed of the military ordnance at a public recreational facility.
That reporting also revealed a July 22, 2025 meeting at the Special Enforcement Bureau where LASD executives discussed the fatal explosion and the search for the missing grenade.
According to sources familiar with that meeting, those present included Assistant Sheriff Jason Skeen, SEB Captain Robbie Royster, Chief Joe Mendoza, Acting Chief Tucker Giandomenico and Commander Oscar Barragan.
One of the issues discussed, according to those sources, was Royster’s decision to individually dispatch bomb technicians to search the deceased detectives’ homes after the explosion.
Sources previously told The Current Report that the LASD sergeant later identified by multiple witnesses as allegedly participating in the disposal of the second grenade was already at one of those residences before bomb technicians arrived to conduct their search.
The timeline has remained one of the most troubling aspects of the missing grenade investigation.
A significant amount of time passed between the explosion and the arrival of bomb technicians at the residence, creating what sources described as an opportunity for the second grenade to be removed before the official search was conducted.
The grenade has never been publicly recovered.
What Did LASD Leadership Know?
That question now appears to be moving closer to the center of the federal inquiry.
The interviews with LASD executives could help investigators establish who knew about the second grenade, when they learned it was missing, what information was communicated up the chain of command and what actions were taken once department leadership became aware there was an unaccounted-for military explosive.
The interviews could also establish whether accounts provided by LASD personnel are consistent with witness statements and information federal investigators have gathered since the explosion.
Being interviewed by federal investigators does not mean an individual is suspected of criminal wrongdoing. But the decision to question members of LASD executive leadership underscores the seriousness of the inquiry and the expanding scope of questions surrounding what happened after three detectives were killed.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives deployed its National Response Team immediately following the July 18 explosion. The specialized federal team includes explosives experts, forensic personnel, engineers and special agents who investigate major explosive incidents.
ATF investigators determined early in the investigation that two grenades had been recovered from a Santa Monica apartment complex the day before the explosion.
One exploded.
The other disappeared.
Sheriff Robert Luna publicly acknowledged the missing grenade one week after the deaths and said investigators believed “with confidence” that the second device had made it from Santa Monica to the Biscailuz facility.
Despite extensive searches, it was not located.
A Second Story Emerges
For months, the public narrative surrounding the tragedy focused largely on how a grenade believed to be inert exploded at the Biscailuz Training Center, killing Detectives Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Victor Lemus and William Osborn.
But the missing second grenade created an entirely separate set of questions.
Beginning in December 2025, multiple sources began providing The Current Report with information alleging the second grenade had been taken from the original operation with the intention of keeping it as a collectible.
As additional witnesses came forward, the allegations became far more serious.
Sources alleged the grenade was later removed from a detective’s residence and ultimately disposed of at a public recreational facility by an LASD member.
The Current Report subsequently provided federal authorities with identities and information supplied by those sources.
Now federal investigators are interviewing members of LASD’s executives with direct knowledge of the incident, the whereabouts of the second grenade and potentially the person(s) reaponsible.
The Stakes Are Growing
The grenade investigation is unfolding against an already damaging backdrop for the department.
California workplace safety investigators found a series of serious and “willful” safety violations surrounding the July 2025 explosion and assessed more than $350,000 in penalties against LASD.
The department has appealed those citations.
The family of Detective Victor Lemus has also filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging failures in training, supervision and the handling of the grenade before the explosion.
Then, on June 5, 2026, another explosives-related blast occurred in the parking lot of the same Biscailuz facility, triggering another Cal/OSHA investigation.
The combination of the fatal explosion, the missing grenade, alleged evidence-handling issues and the continued questioning of department personnel has transformed what initially appeared to be a catastrophic workplace accident into something much larger.
The question is no longer simply how a live grenade ended up at Biscailuz.
The question is what happened to the second grenade – and what happened inside LASD after three detectives were killed.
Luna Promised Answers
In the days following the deaths, Luna publicly promised a comprehensive investigation.
“We’re gonna turn this upside down. We’re gonna look at everything we can because we need to know what happened. We owe it to the families,” Luna said at the time.
More than a year later, federal investigators are still asking questions.
And those questions have now reached the executive level of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The Monday interview, followed by another executive interview scheduled for next week, suggests investigators are not simply revisiting the mechanics of the explosion. They are examining the decisions made afterward and the people responsible for making them.
The explosion occurred in seconds.
What happened to the second grenade – and what department officials knew or did afterward – has now been under scrutiny for more than a year.
This is a developing story.
