After months of near-constant blaring horns and alarms that have driven residents of a Van Nuys neighborhood to the brink, Los Angeles police arrested a man Wednesday evening. However, the takedown brought both relief and lingering questions. Neighbors along the 6600 block of Peach Avenue say the noise from 45-year-old Gary Boyadzhayan’s home has been a daily disruption since June.
“It’s irritating,” said Bernarda Phipps, who lives directly across the street. “He needs help, but what kind of help does he need?”
Video of the arrest shows Boyadzhayan shouting as officers handcuffed him on his front lawn. He was booked Wednesday night but released early Thursday morning on his own recognizance.
According to LAPD Capt. Chris Zine, officers had been working with other city departments in hopes of both silencing the noise and addressing Boyadzhayan’s apparent mental health needs. On Wednesday morning, police issued him an administrative citation and warned him to stop using the horns. Within two hours, they say, the blaring resumed.
Boyadzhayan told Eyewitness News earlier in the day that he had no intention of stopping, citing an unsubstantiated claim that the mafia was trying to kill him with LAPD’s help. “I need help,” he said. “I don’t know how else to cry out for it.”
In another interview, he expanded the lore of his grievance, alleging two decades of harassment and threats by his ex-girlfriend’s father, who he claims robbed him, ruined his business, and waged lawfare against him. He also cited repeated wrongful arrests in 2012–2013, loss of his automotive shop, and ongoing workplace harassment. Boyadzhayan denied having mental health issues and said sounding loud horns is his only way to draw attention to his plight, though he apologized to neighbors for the noise.
“(LAPD) told me they’re sending me a ticket for the horn for disturbance in the mail, and I told them I would stop,” he told a reporter. “But … I’m not stopping until justice is served.”
For weeks, police faced a logistical hurdle: to take enforcement action, officers needed to hear the noise in person. By the time they arrived, Boyadzhayan often shut it off. “That horn’s being used intermittently,” Zine said.
On Wednesday evening, the opportunity came. Neighbor Bob Donovan said Boyadzhayan returned home, believing the day’s conflict had passed. “He went out to water his lawn, and a couple of plainclothes vehicles just pulled up real quick and snatched him,” Donovan said. “He was yelling and screaming and resisting arrest.”
The clarion-like horns — mounted high in a backyard tree — remain in place for now, and LAPD has not announced specific charges.
Still, for many residents, the neighborhood is suddenly and unexpectedly quiet. “Finally,” said neighbor Jim Phipps. “Now we can relax and just live our lives the best way we can.”
