Police probe Avondale man's shooting death

A 67-year-old Avondale man described as kind and gentle was found fatally shot Sunday morning, state police said Monday.

Police responded to a report of "a bleeding, unconscious male lying on the ground" at 9:21 a.m. Sunday to the first block of Pennsylvania Avenue, said Trooper Corey Monthei, a state police spokesman. The victim was identified as Isaias P. Rivera, Monthei said.

Monthei said a preliminary probe indicated that Rivera had arrived home about 2 a.m. from the Caribbean Cafe, the Wilmington nightclub he owned. Rivera was accosted, and during a brief struggle, he was shot and fell to the ground, where he died of his injuries, Monthei said. Robbery was believed to be the motive, police said.

"He was a really nice guy. He never had a problem with anyone," said Jose Aguilera, a longtime neighbor.

Aguilera, a resident of the Avondale Apartments complex, which abuts Rivera's backyard, said Rivera would often exchange pleasantries with neighbors when he walked his three small dogs.

"I know he loved those dogs," said Paul Herb, a real estate agent who had the listing for Rivera's two-story building, a vacant storefront with an upstairs apartment. Herb said the dogs were the type that you had "for affection, not protection."

Herb described Rivera as smart, pleasant, and industrious. He said he believed Rivera wanted to sell so he could move closer to relatives. He said appointments with Rivera were difficult to schedule.

"He was always working," Herb said. "He was definitely a hard worker."

Aguilera expressed surprise that police were not contacted sooner, since the area where Rivera's body was found is often used as a shortcut from the apartment complex to Pennsylvania Avenue.

Aguilera said many of the neighbors do not speak English and might have been afraid to get involved.

"I think it's a shame for the area, and a shame for his family," Herb said.

News reports indicate that Rivera had problems with police at both the Oxford Hotel, which he bought in 1987 and operated as El Conquistador for several years, and the Wilmington club, where two bar fights turned fatal in 2007.

An autopsy was to be performed Monday night, Monthei said. Authorities ask that anyone with information call the state police Avondale barracks at 610-268-2022. Callers may remain anonymous.