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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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 \u201ccry for help\u201d and alluded to being \u201cwronged\u201d by someone, without elaborating.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a nice guy who is just going through something,\u201d a neighbor said about Boyadzhyan, echoing the sentiment of most neighbors.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Three horns were removed from this backyard tree.<\/p>\n
(Myung J. Chun\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
On Wednesday morning, Los Angeles Police Department officers visited him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know where it was coming from all this time,\u201d neighbor Clara Espinoza said about the horn as she walked by Boyadzhyan\u2019s home. She watched as three officers marched up to his door.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, it\u2019s Gary\u2019s house,\u201d Espinoza said with a note of surprise. She\u2019s lived in the neighborhood for 24 years and couldn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a nice enough man and I say hello to him whenever I walk by,\u201d she said. \u201cYou know this is in the Book of Revelations. The horns. Well, trumpets. But it\u2019s like the same thing. It\u2019s alarming.\u201d<\/p>\n
The officers knocked on his door for several minutes. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe just want to talk,\u201d one of the officers said as a Times reporter watched from the sidewalk.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are aware,\u201d Lambert said motioning to the property and the horn. \u201cThere are things that are being worked on to alleviate the horn issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boyadzhyan answered his door and spoke to a Times reporter about his visit with the LAPD.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have an issue with LAPD Van Nuys,\u201d he said, referring to the Police Department\u2019s local bureau. \u201cI also have a legal case that\u2019s … it\u2019s over a person who wronged me and it cost me everything. It cost me my job. Everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s an out-of-work car technician and that the whole situation with the horn is a \u201ccry for help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they were concerned, they could have come over to talk with me,\u201d he said about his neighbors. \u201cInstead, I have strangers knocking here, police, reporters.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked whether he planned to keep the horn off, he said, \u201cI didn\u2019t have any plans to turn it on right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n