One year after three Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department detectives were killed in the deadliest incident in the agency’s history since 1857, the investigation is revealing a far more troubling picture than the public was initially led to believe.
The aftermath of the tragic accident has devolved into a sprawling cover-up designed to protect the image of Sheriff Robert Luna as he seeks re-election.
Multiple credible sources have identified the individual they allege removed the second grenade from one of the detectives’ homes, and later illegally disposed of the military ordnance at a public recreational facility close by.
The “Missing” Grenade
Following the July 18th, 2025 fatal explosion, LASD personnel learned the there was a second grenade that could not be accounted for.
Multiple agencies involved in the investigation at the Biscailuz Center searched the entire property, as well as the detective’s personal vehicles failing to locate any evidence that a second device had detonated at the scene.
On July 22, 2025, LASD executives met at the Special Enforcement Bureau to discuss both the fatal explosion and the effort to locate the missing grenade. According to sources familiar with that meeting, those in attendance included then-Commander Brandon Dean, Assistant Sheriff Jason Skeen, SEB Captain Robbie Royster, Chief Joe Mendoza, Acting Chief Tucker Giandomenico, and Commander Oscar Barragan.
Sources told The Current Report that one of the primary topics discussed was Captain Robbie Royster’s decision to individually dispatch bomb technicians to search the detectives’ homes, a move the same sources allege violated established safety protocols.
These individuals said the LASD sergeant later identified by multiple witnesses as allegedly participating in the disposal of the second grenade, was already present at one of the detective’s residence before bomb technicians arrived to conduct the search. According to those sources, a significant amount of time elapsed between the fatal explosion and the arrival of the bomb technicians, creating an opportunity for the grenade to be removed before the search was conducted.
According to multiple sources who began speaking with The Current Report in December 2025, the second grenade recovered during the original operation was allegedly taken to the home of one of the detectives with the intention of adding it to his personal collection. Sources familiar with bomb squad practices said retaining inert explosive devices as collectibles had historically occurred when bomb technicians believed the devices had been rendered safe, and were no longer part of an active investigation.
With the discovery of these serious allegations involving the potential illegal handling of evidence by LASD personnel following the deaths of three seasoned detectives, The Current Report contacted federal authorities (ATF), and provided the identities and information supplied by its sources.
Once deputies took possession of the explosive devices (at the call in Santa Monica), and in the aftermath of the explosion, every subsequent decision became the responsibility of the Sheriff’s Department. Decisions involving transportation, storage, supervision, evidence preservation, explosive handling and chain of custody all fell within the department’s control.
Those decisions deserve as much scrutiny as the grenade itself because they determine whether established safety protocols were followed and whether opportunities existed to prevent three experienced bomb technicians from losing their lives.
The Current Report has confirmed that established protocols were not followed during the transportation, testing and ultimate disposal of the grenades involved in the events leading to the deaths of the three detectives. Those failures ultimately resulted in Cal/OSHA assessing more than $350,000 in fines against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
As additional information has emerged regarding the missing grenade, a second explosives-related blast in the Biscailuz Center parking lot on June 5, 2026 prompted Cal/OSHA to open yet another investigation.
Now, with allegations of a potential federal-level cover-up involving senior LASD executives, those concerns have only intensified.
Leadership Under Increasing Scrutiny
Over the past year, The Current Report has spoken with numerous current and former members of the Special Enforcement Bureau who have consistently expressed concerns about decisions made before and after the July 18, 2025 fatal explosion.
Their concerns extend well beyond tactical mistakes. They question why explosive devices were allegedly transported to and handled at the Biscailuz Center instead of designated bomb disposal facilities, why long-established safety procedures designed to protect bomb technicians were allegedly disregarded, and why accountability has appeared limited despite multiple outside investigations identifying significant safety failures.
More recently, multiple sources have alleged that senior LASD executives have become involved in efforts to shield Sheriff Robert Luna and the individuals allegedly involved in the illegal disposal of the grenade, from accountability while controlling the narrative surrounding both the fatal explosion and its aftermath.
Meanwhile, multiple local, state, and federal investigations remain active.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has confirmed it is reviewing potential criminal charges related to the fatal explosion while investigators continue examining both the July 18, 2025 incident and the circumstances surrounding the missing second grenade.
Civil litigation filed on behalf of Detective Victor Lemus’ family also alleges significant failures involving training, supervision and operational decision-making before the explosion.
Collectively, those investigations suggest this was not an isolated accident, but a systemic failure requiring a broader examination of leadership, policy and accountability.
Now, allegations involving the missing grenade have evolved beyond questions of evidence handling. Multiple sources have alleged that senior LASD executives may have become involved in efforts to obstruct justice—allegations that, if proven, could become a career-ending scandal for Sheriff Robert Luna as he seeks re-election.
The allegations inevitably raise another question: Could history repeat itself? Could this become another Lee Baca-era scandal in which senior Sheriff’s Department executives, including Sheriff Luna himself, face allegations of misleading or lying to federal investigators?
The fatal explosion itself lasted only seconds. The decisions that preceded it, and the decisions made in the hours, days and months that followed, could prove far more consequential than the blast itself, with ramifications that extend well beyond the deaths of three detectives and into the highest levels of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
In the days following the fatal explosion, Sheriff Robert Luna pledged a thorough 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… I never want this to happen again.”
One year later, the record raises difficult questions about whether those promises translated into meaningful change. Instead of demonstrating that critical lessons had been learned, the Sheriff’s Department has experienced another explosives-related blast at the Biscailuz Training Center, prompting yet another Cal/OSHA investigation. For many current and former members of the department, those events suggest the underlying problems have not only persisted, but worsened, leaving the Biscailuz Training Center vulnerable to another preventable tragedy.
