Delaware County man slain during heated Memorial Day argument, police say

In the predawn hours of Memorial Day, Joseph Iavarone and John Ballas collided on Ballas’ lawn in a rapid burst of violence that exploded in their quiet Delaware County neighborhood, where they lived just yards apart.

Ballas, 49, was arrested about 3:30 a.m. Monday, charged with first- and third-degree murder for shooting Iavarone, 44, once in the head as they traded threats in Aston, police said.

He remained in custody, denied bail, at George W. Hill Correctional Facility and faces a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled for June 11.

Ballas’ lawyer, James Henderson Bonner, said little after the arraignment Tuesday morning before District Judge Walter A. Strohl Jr.

“This was a very sad happening that occurred,” Bonner said. “I think everyone would agree with that.”

Andrew Iavarone described it differently as he labored to collect the remnants of his son’s life from his home.

“It was a waste of a life. He was a good person,” Iavarone said. "All the guy had to do is say ‘I’m calling the police.’

“You have the right to own a gun, but you don’t have the right to shoot someone for making noise outside your house," he added.

Three 911 calls from Bishop Drive were made to state police Monday morning within a half-hour, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Ballas’ arrest.

The first caller was Ballas’ wife, who told dispatchers that a man, likely drunk, was damaging a flower pot outside her home. Two minutes later, a second caller reported an argument outside her home that “sounded violent.”

That same caller contacted police again not long after to report a shooting, the affidavit said.

Neighbors told police that they overheard Iavarone yelling for Ballas’ son in an attempt to goad him into a fight outside. Ballas, according to a statement his wife gave to police, woke up and retrieved a .38-caliber revolver he kept locked in his bedroom.

Another neighbor recorded the resulting confrontation on her cellphone, which was recovered by state police.

In the recording, Ballas is heard telling Iavarone: “If you come on my yard again, you’re going to be shot,” according to the affidavit. Iavarone and Ballas continue to argue, with Iavarone later saying “Don’t shoot me, don’t shoot me."

After Iavarone told Ballas “I don’t [expletive] around,” a gunshot was heard, investigators said. A minute later, Ballas said “I told you not to do it,” and told someone off-camera that he was going to wait for the police outside.

When officers arrived, they found Iavarone unresponsive on Ballas’ lawn, shot once in the head. Ballas told police that he had shot his neighbor, and was taken into custody. Iavarone was pronounced dead a short time later at Crozer Chester Hospital.

A young woman who walked out of the Ballas family’s home Tuesday afternoon declined to comment.

Not long after, Andrew Iavarone and his wife drove to the block to pick up their son’s car, among other items. He spoke of spending Friday and Saturday with his son, celebrating the holiday weekend together.

Joseph had been “troubled” of late, he said, and was in the middle of a bitter custody dispute with his ex-wife for their two children.

“We’re devastated,” Andrew Iavarone said of his son’s death. “He was popular with everybody. He was a good guy, and a lot of fun to be with.”

The younger Iavarone was a fixture for two decades in the Garnet Valley School District, where he had graduated from high school in 1992. He held various roles throughout his tenure there, including as a coach for baseball and football teams, according to Marc Bertrando, the district’s superintendent.

Most recently, Iavarone was a health and physical education teacher at the middle school, but resigned March 22 due to “personal and professional reasons,” said Bertrando, who declined to elaborate, citing district rules on personnel matters.