Tormentor of Neighbors Sentenced

A Tujunga man who tormented his neighbors for years and falsely accused them of making illegal drugs has been sentenced to nearly 14 months in jail, authorities said.

Ludovit Salka, 80, was sentenced to 420 days in jail in San Fernando Superior Court on Thursday after he was convicted for the third time since 1996 of disturbing the peace, city attorney’s spokesman Mike Qualls said. Salka may spend up to 330 days in a lock-down mental hospital instead of jail, Qualls said.

A jury found Salka guilty of violating his probation from a previous case in January, when police arrested him for screaming at his neighbors, Qualls said.

Authorities said Salka staked out the homes of neighbors in the 7200 block of Estepa Drive in Tujunga and took pictures of them against their will. Salka was sentenced to jail time in 1996 and 1998 after previous convictions for disturbing the peace.

In 1990, the Los Angeles County Superior Court banned him from calling 911 to report drug activity after he called the hotline 582 times in one month, saying his neighbors were manufacturing drugs. The accusations were never substantiated.