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Man Charged With Stabbing Pilsen Man To Death At Neighborhood Bar

(STMW) -- A man was ordered held without bond for the murder of a 43-year-old man who was stabbed to death early Saturday at a neighborhood bar in Pilsen.

Ulises Almaraz, 29, of Berwyn, faces one count of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Rodolfo "Rudy" Avina, Chicago Police announced early Sunday.

Avina, a father of three who married into the family that owns the famed Nuevo Leon restaurant on 18th Street, was killed early Saturday at a neighborhood bar where he was a regular.

He was sitting at the bar at Simone's, a popular spot in the 900 block of West 18th Street, when someone walked up behind him and slit his throat, a relative said authorities told him.

Avina, who lived blocks way, was dead at the scene. Almaraz was taken into custody after the stabbing, police said.

On Sunday, Almaraz was ordered held without bon.d

Chicago Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Rottner said Saturday night the attack "was unprovoked" and that Avina was "an innocent victim."

The violent death shocked the tight-knit community of Pilsen, where even the local mailman knew what had happened to a beloved community member. A framer by trade, the 43-year-old's craftsmanship can be found throughout the National Museum of Mexican Art in the Near West Side neighborhood.

"Rudy was known because he had this great personality and a very kind and gentle soul," said longtime friend Diana Solis, 59. "Rudy is going to leave a huge void in this community."

"He was not somebody who wanted to get in trouble," said longtime friend Cesario Moreno, the chief curator at the Mexican art museum. "He was a peace-loving father."

Avina owned a framing business, Creativo Framing, in River North and worked with artists all around the city, Moreno said.

Avina had been friends with James Foley, the American journalist who was captured and killed by the Islamic State, Avina's friends said. He helped organize a Pilsen mural for his slain friend, Solis said.

Avina was a vegetarian, loved to camp and was a musician who played the doumbek drum, friends said.

He was also the father of three teenagers — Mia, Carlos and Sofia, said Daniel Gutierrez Jr., whose family owns Nuevo Leon. Avina had been married to Gutierrez's sister, but they had divorced.

Gutierrez Jr. said authorities told him surveillance video of the bar shows Avina having a beer or two at the bar and a "guy seems to be standing behind him for quite some time … and so he decided to slice his throat while he was sitting at the bar."

An owner of Simone's, Desiree Grant, said her staff is cooperating with the police.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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