Latest news with #GaryBoyadzhyan
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
A man who has blared a train horn, tormenting an L.A. neighborhood for two months, is arrested
A quiet Van Nuys neighborhood of manicured lawns, palm trees and single-family homes has been embroiled in a noisy squabble over a train horn that one homeowner has affixed to a tree and used to set off drawn-out blares at irregular intervals. While the window-rattling blasts over the last two months have drawn complaints and calls to police, they have also garnered concern from Peach Avenue neighbors over the well-being of the homeowner. The latest chapter in the train horn saga took place Wednesday when Los Angeles police arrested Gary Boyadzhyan, 50, an unemployed car technician, who set off the horn after previously promising to keep it silent. In an interview with The Times, he described the drama as a "cry for help" and alluded to being "wronged" by someone, without elaborating. "He's a nice guy who is just going through something," a neighbor said about Boyadzhyan, echoing the sentiment of most neighbors. Boyadzhyan attached his setup, similar to a big-rig or train horn, to a palm tree in his backyard. The horn hangs over his one-story home. Since June, Boyadzhyan has set off the horn in long belches in the late afternoon or at night, according to neighbors on Peach Avenue, an otherwise quiet residential area. On Wednesday morning, Los Angeles Police Department officers visited him. "I didn't know where it was coming from all this time," neighbor Clara Espinoza said about the horn as she walked by Boyadzhyan's home. She watched as three officers marched up to his door. "Oh, it's Gary's house," Espinoza said with a note of surprise. She's lived in the neighborhood for 24 years and couldn't pinpoint the source of the horn blasts. She had planned to call police and noted that the frequency of the horn had increased in the last few weeks. "He's a nice enough man and I say hello to him whenever I walk by," she said. "You know this is in the Book of Revelations. The horns. Well, trumpets. But it's like the same thing. It's alarming." Read more: West Hollywood shopping center installs chirping device to discourage homeless from camping out. Will it work? The officers knocked on his door for several minutes. "We just want to talk," one of the officers said as a Times reporter watched from the sidewalk. Boyadzhyan appeared at his door in shorts and a T-shirt. He spoke to the officers for several minutes. After the conversation, Officer Chase Lambert said the call to the residence was over a neighborly dispute. He and other officers declined to elaborate on the dispute. "We are aware," Lambert said motioning to the property and the horn. "There are things that are being worked on to alleviate the horn issue." Boyadzhyan answered his door and spoke to a Times reporter about his visit with the LAPD. "I have an issue with LAPD Van Nuys," he said, referring to the Police Department's local bureau. "I also have a legal case that's ... it's over a person who wronged me and it cost me everything. It cost me my job. Everything." He did not elaborate about the situation and why he is setting off his horn and other alarms from his property. He added that he's an out-of-work car technician and that the whole situation with the horn is a "cry for help." "If they were concerned, they could have come over to talk with me," he said about his neighbors. "Instead, I have strangers knocking here, police, reporters." When asked whether he planned to keep the horn off, he said, "I didn't have any plans to turn it on right now." Read more: L.A. landlord stops blasting 'Baby Shark' tune to drive off homeless following complaints A few hours later, the horn sounded again, according to his neighbors. LAPD officers arrived at the home, handcuffed Boyadzhyan while he was standing on his front lawn and led him to a police vehicle. The LAPD said he was arrested on suspicion of interfering with a peace officer and disturbing the peace, which are both misdemeanors. Boyadzhyan was booked into a county jail shortly after 9 p.m. and released on his own recognizance about 5:30 a.m. Thursday, according to jail records. He did not respond to requests for comment. News station ABC7 first reported about the train horn on Peach Avenue. Espinoza, who lives around the corner from Boyadzhyan, said the horn was loud enough to rattle her windows. Another neighbor, who declined to give their name out of privacy concerns, said Boyadzhyan would set off the horn for 20 to 40 intervals at a time. While they acknowledged that the horn was annoying, they're more worried about Boyadzhyan's well-being. Boyadzhyan is often seen walking around his property late at night, sometimes using power tools to garden or working on vehicles in his driveway, according to neighbors. Before his arrest, a spokesperson for City Councilmember Imelda Padilla's office said it had not received any complaints about the horn. 'Our office will be coordinating with appropriate authorities to address these concerns and bring order back to the neighbors on Peach [Avenue] and ensure the individual is offered help," Padilla said in a statement. "This neighborhood deserves peace and quiet in its homes, and the current situation is unacceptable." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
A man blaring a train alarm torments L.A. neighborhood. Then he was arrested
A quiet Van Nuys neighborhood of manicured lawns, palm trees and single-family homes has been embroiled in a noisy squabble over a train horn that one homeowner has affixed to a tree and used to set off drawn-out blares at irregular intervals. While the window-rattling blasts over the last two months have drawn complaints and calls to police, they have also garnered concern from Peach Avenue neighbors over the well-being of the homeowner. The latest chapter in the train horn saga took place Wednesday when Los Angeles police arrested Gary Boyadzhyan, 50, an unemployed car technician, who set off the horn after previously promising to keep it silent. In an interview with The Times, he described the drama as a 'cry for help' and alluded to being 'wronged' by someone, without elaborating. 'He's a nice guy who is just going through something,' a neighbor said about Boyadzhyan, echoing the sentiment of most neighbors. Boyadzhyan attached his setup, similar to a big-rig or train horn, to a palm tree in his backyard. The horn hangs over his one-story home. Since June, Boyadzhyan has set off the horn in long belches in the late afternoon or at night, according to neighbors on Peach Avenue, an otherwise quiet residential area. On Wednesday morning, Los Angeles Police Department officers visited him. 'I didn't know where it was coming from all this time,' neighbor Clara Espinoza said about the horn as she walked by Boyadzhyan's home. She watched as three officers marched up to his door. 'Oh, it's Gary's house,' Espinoza said with a note of surprise. She's lived in the neighborhood for 24 years and couldn't pinpoint the source the horn blasts. She had planned to call police and noted that the frequency of the horn had increased in the last few weeks. 'He's a nice enough man and I say hello to him whenever I walk by,' she said. 'You know this is in the Book of Revelations. The horns. Well, trumpets. But it's like the same thing. It's alarming.' The officers knocked on his door for several minutes. 'We just want to talk,' one of the officers said as a Times reporter watched from the sidewalk. Boyadzhyan appeared at his door in shorts and a T-shirt. He spoke to the officers for several minutes. After the conversation, Officer Chase Lambert said the call to the residence was over a neighborly dispute. He and other officers declined to elaborate on the dispute. 'We are aware,' Lambert said motioning to the property and the horn. 'There are things that are being worked on to alleviate the horn issue.' Boyadzhyan answered his door and spoke to a Times reporter about his visit with the LAPD. 'I have an issue with LAPD Van Nuys,' he said, referring to the Police Department's local bureau. 'I also have a legal case that's ... it's over a person who wronged me and it cost me everything. It cost me my job. Everything.' He did not elaborate about the situation and why he is setting off his horn and other alarms from his property. He added that he's an out-of-work car technician and that the whole situation with the horn is a 'cry for help.' 'If they were concerned, they could have come over to talk with me,' he said about his neighbors. 'Instead, I have strangers knocking here, police, reporters.' When asked whether he planned to keep the horn off, he said, 'I didn't have any plans to turn it on right now.' A few hours later, the horn sounded again, according to his neighbors. LAPD officers arrived at the home, handcuffed Boyadzhyan while he was standing on his front lawn and led him to a police vehicle. The LAPD said he was arrested on suspicion of interfering with a peace officer and disturbing the peace, which are both misdemeanors. Boyadzhyan was booked into a county jail shortly after 9 p.m. and released on his own recognizance about 5:30 a.m. Thursday, according to jail records. He did not respond to requests for comment. News station ABC7 first reported about the train horn on Peach Avenue. Espinoza, who lives around the corner from Boyadzhyan, said the horn was loud enough to rattle her windows. Another neighbor, who declined to give their name out of privacy concerns, said Boyadzhyan would set off the horn for 20 to 40 intervals at a time. While they acknowledged that the horn was annoying, they're more worried about Boyadzhyan's well-being. Boyadzhyan is often seen walking around his property late at night, sometimes using power tools to garden or working on vehicles in his driveway, according to neighbors. Before his arrest, a spokesperson for City Councilmember Imelda Padilla's office said it had not received any complaints about the horn. 'Our office will be coordinating with appropriate authorities to address these concerns and bring order back to the neighbors on Peach [Avenue] and ensure the individual is offered help,' Padilla said in a statement. 'This neighborhood deserves peace and quiet in its homes, and the current situation is unacceptable.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Van Nuys residents say neighbor has made life unbearable; homeowner explains why he's blasting horns
The Brief Residents in Van Nuys say a man has been bothering neighbors with strange behaviors for months. Neighbors say Gary has been blasting a train-like horn and even mows his lawn in the middle of the night. LAPD officers responded to the home on Wednesday. Just before 8:30 p.m., LAPD said Gary was taken into custody. LOS ANGELES - After receiving numerous complaints of a Van Nuys resident terrorizing his neighborhood with strange behavior, officers with the Los Angeles Police Department swarmed the house on Peach Avenue Wednesday afternoon. The man, Gary Boyadzhyan, has been blasting what sounds like train horns and an alarm since May, keeping neighbors awake all hours of the night. Residents call him 'neighbor from hell' What they're saying FOX11 was there when one of his neighbors confronted him Wednesday. "I just told him 'you've got to chill out, man. You're killing us here,'" said Bernarda. She said he also made cryptic comments about someone possibly being after him and that he needed the police's help. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: San Fernando Valley man terrorizes neighbors with bizarre behavior "Police need to pull up these reports, they need to do their job. Everything's right there in front of them. 1 plus 1 equals 2, not 11," our cameras captured Gary telling Bernarda. Many of the neighbors have called LAPD repeatedly, saying the disruptions go beyond the horns and alarms. "This man is up mowing his lawn at 2 a.m., he's working on cars, metal to metal banging, all hours of the night into the early morning and we all have other things to do," said neighbor Bob. On Wednesday police showed up in force, but Gary was long gone by the time they arrived. The LAPD told FOX11 that it's difficult to make a case for a citation against Gary because officers need to observe the noise themselves, which so far has not happened. Gary speaks out, says life is in danger The other side By Wednesday evening, Gary had returned home and spoke to FOX 11, explaining the reason for the horn. He said his ex-girlfriend's father has been terrorizing and torturing him for the past 20 years, and he's blasting the horn so law enforcement can "do their job" and serve justice against that man. "I don't know what else to do. My life is in danger. He will kill me. He's capable of doing it and he will do it. Nobody in his life has ever talked to him the way I've been talking about him the past two months," Gary told FOX 11. He explained that their conflict began after he caught his ex-girlfriend cheating. He claims her father had him arrested 13 times in eight months in 2013. He also claims that he got him fired from his job. While Gary admits the noise has disturbed his neighbors, he insists it is the only way to get help. "I do apologize for the neighbors. I'm sincerely sorry. I would be uncomfortable too. The noise is really loud. But my life is in danger, I don't know what else to do," he added. He says he will continue sounding the horn until authorities investigate his claims. Taken into custody Shortly after speaking with reporters outside his house, the LAPD confirmed that Gary was taken into custody. It's unclear what charges he faces. The Source Information for this story came from interviews with neighbors and homeowner Gary Boyadzhyan. Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
5 days ago
- CBS News
Van Nuys man blares train horn amid 10-year feud with LAPD
A Van Nuys man has resorted to routinely blaring a train horn throughout the day to get the Los Angeles Police Department to pay attention to his concerns. For the past two weeks, Bernarda Phipps and her neighbors have endured the deafening sounds coming from Gary Boyadzhyan's home along Peach Avenue. Neighbors have filed several noise complaints, with officers responding to Boyadzhyan's home twice this Wednesday. Captain Christopher Zine said police have minimal options to enforce misdemeanors if an officer does not witness the crime. "I mean, I don't even know what to say about it," Phipps said. "I feel bad for him." Boyadzhyan says he's been trying to get the LAPD's attention for about 12 years because he's been the target of harassment and assault, but police won't help him. He couldn't provide proof of any police reports to support his claim. "I'm sorry to all my neighbors, but my life is on the line," Boyadzhyan said. "I've got no other choice. I don't know what else to do." Boyadzhyan said four men assaulted him, but he did not have any visible injuries. "They never even got to drop me on the floor," Boyadzhyan said. "I was standing on two feet the whole time. Bruise on my back, my ear. Back of my head is swollen. I feel it when I touch it." The LAPD said they have issued a citation, but the City Attorney's office will determine any penalty. "I feel bad for him, honestly," Phipps said. "He's getting all this attention, but is he really solving his problems? I don't know. LAPD has increased patrols in the area.
