When the dust settles, the real story begins. In The Leonard Files, veteran NBC4 Los Angeles investigative reporter Eric Leonard takes you beyond the headlines of Los Angeles' most compelling stories. With exclusive interviews and deep-dive reporting, this podcast uncovers the untold stories of survival, loss, and resilience in the face of crisis and change.
From community leaders and impacted residents to the decision-makers shaping the future, The Leonard Files exposes the challenges, the failures, and the hard-fought battles happening behind the scenes.
The Leonard Files.
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When the dust settles, the real story begins. In The Leonard Files, veteran NBC4 Los Angeles investigative reporter Eric Leonard takes you beyond the headlines of Los Angeles' most compelling stories. With exclusive interviews and deep-dive reporting, this podcast uncovers the untold stories of survival, loss, and resilience in the face of crisis and change.
From community leaders and impacted residents to the decision-makers shaping the future, The Leonard Files exposes the challenges, the failures, and the hard-fought battles happening behind the scenes.
The Leonard Files.
🎧 Subscribe now and stay ahead of the story.
An unusual hearing was held this week in federal court in Downtown LA – when a judge was asked to disqualify the acting US Attorney for Southern California. Former state assemblyman Bill Essayli first served as the interim US Attorney, now described as an, ‘acting,” US Attorney – raising questions about whether his tenure is lawful under a variety of laws. Could the judge’s decision affect criminal cases in LA? Also, the latest on the man accused of causing the Palisades Fire, and the arrest of a former LAPD officer who was once cleared in the on-duty killing of a man in Venice.
After months of investigation the ATF announced this week that agents had arrested a 29-year-old man on a federal arson charge – and accused him of causing the Palisades Fire. Jonathan Rinderknecht is being held in Florida with no bail, after fire investigators concluded the January 7th Palisades Fire was a reignition of a January 1st brush fire in the same area. Rinderknecht is charged with igniting the January 1st fire, and federal prosecutors say more charges are likely.
Why did so many news outlets blast out headlines – that an arrest had been made in the death of Celeste Rivas? No such arrest was made – we explain the confusion and have updates on another murder investigation tied to remains in a car, plus -- why a family’s lawsuit could renew a criminal investigation into an in-custody death at LA’s Twin Towers jail.
The body of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas, missing since April 2024, was discovered in the trunk of a Tesla registered to musician D4vd. Police are investigating the case as a homicide, though no charges have been filed. In this episode, we break down the latest details, the investigation’s focus, and what comes next.
We run down some of the unusual crime stories we followed this week, including a home invasion robbery in Woodland Hills, the discoveries of the bodies of 2 people inside cars at LA tow yards, and consider why the California Attorney General has suddenly taken legal action against LA County, after years of complaints about poor living conditions inside jails.
The US Attorney’s Office in Southern California filed a civil lawsuit against Southern California Edison in federal court, seeking to hold the utility liable for the cost of fighting the Eaton Fire and for the damage it caused to the Angeles National Forest. More than 5,000 fire victims have already filed suit in state court for the deaths of loved ones and the loss of homes and businesses. We consider the implications of the new federal case with attorney Mike Artinian, who’s firm already represents hundreds of Eaton Fire victims in lawsuits against SCE.
Erik & Lyle Menendez’s defense lawyer Mark Geragos says he’s going to court to challenge the decision last week to deny parole for the brothers, but it’s a difficult legal path. Criminal justice professor and parole attorney Bruce Zucker talks about the reality of the decisions last week and the prospect of a successful legal challenge.
The last of 6 men accused of taking part in the 2008 murder of LA County Sheriff’s Deputy Juan Abel Escalante was returned to Southern California from Mexico this week, as part of a negotiated agreement between the US Justice Department and Mexican justice officials. Roberto Salazar was charged in 2011 but wasn’t located until March, 2025. Deputy Escalante’s murder led to one of the largest organized crime prosecutions of a street gang in Southern California – that helped transform the Cypress Park neighborhood where Escalante was killed.
We update a few stories we’ve been covering: arrests in burglary of actor Brad Pitt’s home in Los Feliz, an information vacuum in the hoax bomb threat made by LA Mayor Karen Bass’ former deputy mayor for public safety, and new allegations against already-accused LA City Councilman Curren Price.
The ATF and LA County Sheriff’s Department continue to examine what caused the hand grenade explosion that claimed the lives of Detectives Victor Lemus, William Osborn, and Joshua Kelley-Eklund. The grenade that detonated – had been examined and x-rayed and was believed to be inert. But what if the x-ray was inaccurate? The latest on the ongoing investigation.
More questions have been raised about the LAPD’s response to the home of an American Idol music supervisor and her husband, who were worried about security in the neighborhood, and were murdered when they walked-in on a burglary in progress. Police had been at their doorstep minutes earlier, but newly-public court records suggest the couple was never made aware of the prowler investigation and were shot to death.
Federal agents and homicide detectives are working to find out – how 3 members of the LA County Sheriff’s Department’s Arson and Explosives Detail, also known as the Bomb Squad, were killed July 18 when something they were examining detonated in the parking lot of the unit’s headquarters near East LA. Detectives Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Victor Lemus and William Osborn were killed. Now, investigators are tracing the origin of the items that caused the explosion.
Mid-year crime data suggests LA is safer now – than last year. Like most other major cities in the US the number of violent and property crimes reported to police continue to decline, following major drops in 2023 and 2024. Historically the number of police shootings trend down along with the violent crime rate, but in the City of LA, they’ve increased in the first 6 months of 2025.
The cause of the January 7, 2025 Palisades Fire remains a mystery, at least to the public, as fire investigators from the ATF and local agencies have said little about what’s been discovered. We’ve picked up a few clues in recent weeks, that appear to suggest the case is focused on what ignited a much smaller brush fire in the Palisades Highlands that burned a week earlier. Fire experts have told us it’s possible, but unlikely, that something left smoldering from the first fire re-ignited in the intense winds on the morning of January 7.
New court documents show federal authorities had considered the possibility in early June that the man accused of being an accomplice in the Palm Springs fertility clinic bombing might try to harm himself. Daniel Park was found unresponsive in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Downtown LA Tuesday morning and died at a hospital. The LA County Medical Examiner says he died by suicide.
Police and federal agents announced 2 significant arrests this week in high-dollar jewel heists. Detectives in Simi Valley say they caught 4 members of a safecracking crew – a few weeks after a jewelry store was the target of a tunnel-in blowtorch burglary. Separately, federal prosecutors announced an indictment of 7 people accused of pulling-off – what authorities say – was the single-largest jewelry heist in US history: the theft of more than $100-million in valuables from a secure transport trailer at a truck stop along the I-5 freeway.
A key clue collected near the scene of the 2022 murder of 81-year-old Ok Ja Kim in Woodland Hills – may have helped investigators connect that case with the recent arrest of a man charged with murdering 53-year-old Menashe “Manny” Hidra in Valley Village in April. Newly amended criminal charges also accuse the man of a stabbing during a home burglary in San Fernando in 2022 – where the victim survived.
Here’s what we know about the murder of a man in Baldwin Park, California on Saturday, May 31, 2025 – that led to the ambush-killing of Baldwin Park Police Officer Samuel Riveros and a gunfight between officers and the suspected killer. A second officer was wounded and survived. The accused killer was publicly identified by authorities, and detectives are still trying to piece together all that happened.
Here’s what we know about the murder of a man in Baldwin Park, California on Saturday, May 31, 2025 – that led to the ambush-killing of Baldwin Park Police Officer Samuel Riveros and a gunfight between officers and the suspected killer. A second officer was wounded and survived. The accused killer was publicly identified by authorities, and detectives are still trying to piece together all that happened.
Thieves hit at least 2 Southern California jewelry stores this week, possibly taking advantage of the holiday weekend when more businesses would be closed. Both stores are small, family-owned businesses that say they lost more than $1-million each in jewelry, valuables, and cash. Are the break-ins connected? And what about a number of other massive jewel and cash heists that are still unsolved?
When the dust settles, the real story begins. In The Leonard Files, veteran NBC4 Los Angeles investigative reporter Eric Leonard takes you beyond the headlines of Los Angeles' most compelling stories. With exclusive interviews and deep-dive reporting, this podcast uncovers the untold stories of survival, loss, and resilience in the face of crisis and change.
From community leaders and impacted residents to the decision-makers shaping the future, The Leonard Files exposes the challenges, the failures, and the hard-fought battles happening behind the scenes.
The Leonard Files.
🎧 Subscribe now and stay ahead of the story.
