{"id":500174,"date":"2026-10-18T14:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T14:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/500174\/"},"modified":"2026-10-18T14:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T14:14:10","slug":"l-a-s-notorious-trash-house-is-overflowing-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/500174\/","title":{"rendered":"L.A.\u2019s notorious \u2018trash house\u2019 is overflowing again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For as long as Yaniv Evan has lived in the 600 block of North Martel Avenue, he could remember his neighbor digging around in the garbage outside right before trash day. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m up at 6 in the morning, he\u2019s out there already,\u201d Evan said. \u201cIt looks like he has a flashlight on his head and he\u2019s out there digging.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evan, who also owns a motorcycle shop called Powerplant in the area, has lived on the same block in the Fairfax District for 15 years. And for all that time, he said his neighbor \u2014 Raymond Gaon, 72 \u2014 has been hoarding trash in his brown Spanish-style stucco home.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Gaon\u2019s yard, sandwiched between two newly renovated mansions, is filled with 3-foot-high stacks of trash bags, clothing, bottles and cans. Over the years, the house has garnered the attention of neighbors, news media and local politicians alike. <\/p>\n

Gaon declined to be interviewed in front of his house Tuesday. He was sitting in a lawn chair underneath an umbrella in the yard surrounded by plastic bags.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no comment,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to be harassed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The standoff has sparked a mixture of anger, anxiety and compassion in the upscale neighborhood of expansive Spanish Colonial homes.<\/p>\n

A friend of Gaon\u2019s, Tonya Lee Jaynes, previously told The Times<\/a> that Gaon is a Vietnam veteran who keeps a strict recycling regimen to make money. Gaon also has a biology degree and lets the vegetation in his yard overgrow so he can observe butterflies and other insects, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a one-man operation, and this is how he makes his money,\u201d Jaynes said at the time. \u201cHe\u2019s not bothering.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another neighbor who lives across the street said he believes Gaon should be viewed with compassion. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s an old man. He should be given a chance to get help,\u201d said Robert, who didn\u2019t want to be identified by his last name, citing privacy concerns. \u201cI don\u2019t think he should be punished. It doesn\u2019t bother me but if I was a next-door neighbor, I\u2019d understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Piles <\/p>\n

Rubbish is piled outside a home on Martel Avenue in the Fairfax District on Oct. 8.<\/p>\n

(Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

But others are frustrated by the city\u2019s inability to solve the problem.<\/p>\n

Evan said that after Gaon\u2019s house first attracted widespread attention two years ago, news helicopters swarmed the neighborhood. The whole street was closed off for days and bulldozers were brought in to remove the trash.<\/p>\n

Weeks later, the garbage was back.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat guy can\u2019t go to jail,\u201d Evan said. \u201cHe\u2019s not like a criminal like that, but maybe a criminal case to fine him or get him to understand it\u2019s been cleaned up and we\u2019re happy, and then it happened again. Like, you can\u2019t even imagine how quick. A few weeks later, it was already starting to stack up again.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Evan, Gaon used to reside on the property with his brother, but has lived alone in recent years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never been inside, but I know it\u2019s the same,\u201d he said of the home. \u201cI heard there\u2019s like stacks of newspaper.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2024, Mayor Karen Bass visited the home and declared it a \u201cpublic health emergency,\u201d prompting a city cleanup.<\/p>\n

Bass\u2019 office said this week that a criminal case against Gaon is ongoing and the court is considering appointing a conservator, \u201cwhich would serve as the responsible party to ensure that property never deteriorates into this condition again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is extremely disappointing that the owner of this private property has once again allowed the conditions to disintegrate and neighbors are forced to live near this mess,\u201d her office said in a statement. \u201cIf appropriate legal action is not expedient, we will pursue all actions necessary to ensure this doesn\u2019t happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health said in a statement that patient privacy prohibits health providers from publicly discussing specific cases. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe programs offered to Los Angeles County residents include both generalized services and specialized programs for veterans, children, transition-aged youth and older adults,\u201d the department said. \u201cLACDMH is committed to assisting the most vulnerable members of our communities find the services and supports appropriate for their needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoarding is a mental health condition recognized by the the American Psychiatric Assn.\u2019s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. While not itself illegal, the consequences of hoarding could violate California penal codes that prohibit public nuisance, including causing \u201cunsafe and unsanitary conditions visible to neighbors.\u201d <\/p>\n

Hoarding may also violate building, health and fire codes in California if exits are blocked or if there are any vermin infestations. <\/p>\n

If someone doesn\u2019t comply with cleanup orders or warnings, they can be fined for code violations by local agencies. In more serious cases, they could face misdemeanor or felony charges for maintaining a public nuisance or reckless endangerment. The courts could also impose probation, mental health treatment and property inspections. <\/p>\n

Olivia, who also didn\u2019t wish to be identified by her last name, has lived on Martel Avenue for four years and is planning on moving soon. She\u2019s concerned she won\u2019t be able to sell her home for as much as it\u2019s worth because of the trash across the street.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel really bad for him … but it\u2019s been horrible,\u201d she said. \u201cWe live near him so it\u2019s affecting all of us for sure. It\u2019s kind of sad that he goes through other people\u2019s trash. We always see him with his cart walking down the block.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olivia has noticed cockroaches in her home and believes they\u2019re attracted to the trash. She said Gaon also keeps an RV nearby. It, too, is filled with garbage. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a little harsh. I think they should fine him and get him out. It\u2019s just not right for us,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can feel bad for someone, but you don\u2019t have to want to live next to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evan, who rents his home with his girlfriend and two sons, said that he\u2019s interested in buying Gaon\u2019s house and has asked him about it, only to be rebuffed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI ask him all the time. I\u2019m like, \u2018Will you sell me the house?\u2019 I\u2019m sweet to him, because I\u2019m like, one day I\u2019m going to get that house and just tear it down because the neighborhood is my neighborhood, you know?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to property records, the home last sold in December 1994 for $144,000, and Gaon is identified as the current owner. The 1,032-square-foot home is now estimated to be worth about $1.3 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you live somewhere for so long, you kind of don\u2019t really see things around you change too much because you\u2019re doing the same thing every day,\u201d Evan said. \u201cLike he\u2019s been doing his routine. Meantime, this whole neighborhood\u2019s changed, and the neighbors have changed, and you have families here now. … The demographics changed, but he hasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For as long as Yaniv Evan has lived in the 600 block of North Martel Avenue, he could…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":500175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[193920,6236,193926,193923,1073,48,52,51,47,50,49,2093,193919,193925,193922,193924,61851,430,193921,1539,72],"class_list":["post-500174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-angry-neighbor","tag-block","tag-health-provider","tag-hoarding","tag-home","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-mental-health","tag-raymond-gaon","tag-trash-day","tag-trash-house","tag-upscale-neighborhood","tag-vietnam-veteran","tag-week","tag-yaniv-evan","tag-yard","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}