Redstone Township man arrested in fatal shooting
State police arrested a Redstone Township man Wednesday in connection to the killing of another man this past weekend.
Norman Fred Pennington, 65, faces felony charges of homicide and prohibited possession of a firearm.
At about 10:36 a.m. Saturday police found Anthony Dicenzo in his vehicle, a white Cadillac, along Riffle Hollow Road near its intersection with Route 166 in German Township.
According to the criminal complaint, Dicenzo, 83, of Brownsville was lying in the backseat of the vehicle covered by a tarp. An autopsy found there were two bullets lodged in his head.
“He had likely been shot in the driver’s seat and moved to the rear of the vehicle,” Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele said during a Wednesday press conference.
Aubele said troopers found a Disney “Frozen” blanket and a garbage bag covering the driver’s seat. He said that as well as other evidence indicated that Dicenzo was killed at one location and then moved to the area of Riffle Hollow Road.
Court records indicated that the two men had known each other for more than three decades. Investigators learned from Dicenzo’s wife that prior to his death he was planning to purchase the Village Lounge bar in Fairbank, as well as five acres of land.
According to the complaint, Dicenzo’s wife told police she believes he gave $30,000 to Pennington for one of these purchases. Earlier this month she overheard Dicenzo on the phone with Pennington.
“If I don’t sign papers on Thursday, then I want my money back. I am the only one who put money into this,” Dicenzo reportedly said.
Donald Guerrieri, the owner of the Village Lounge, said Dicenzo asked about purchasing the bar once in December 2023 while Pennington had made several inquiries. He said they had each separately offered about $70,000.
Pennington initially denied that Dicenzo had given him money or that they had discussed purchasing any property.
Later, said Aubele, “Mr. Pennington admitted that he was essentially swindling Mr. Dicenzo out of the money.”
Dicenzo was reported missing at 1:30 a.m. Saturday. Data retrieved from his cellphone showed that Dicenzo’s device was in the area of Pennington’s home in the 600 block of Main Street, Redstone Township from about 12:43 p.m. to 1:53 p.m. Friday.
The phone then moved to Riffle Hollow Road where police later found Dicenzo’s body.
Pennington claimed to police that he was at his barbershop in Menallen Township from Friday morning until about 3 p.m. However, security footage from a nearby convenience store contradicted his alibi. According to the complaint, Pennington is seen on the footage leaving his business at about 10:30 a.m., and returning shortly after 2:30 p.m.
Pennington’s wife told investigators that he had gone to work that morning but returned between 11 a.m. and noon. She said that he went in and out of the house multiple times before leaving again. According to the complaint, she looked out the window and saw a white sedan she did not recognize driving away.
Court records indicate that Pennington called his wife soon after and asked her to meet him at the intersection of Filbert Orient and Bunker Hill roads. She followed Pennington, who was driving the sedan she saw earlier.
According to the complaint, Pennington parked the car where it was later found by police and then asked his wife to take him home.
Aubele said state police obtained search warrants on Tuesday to search Pennington’s home and barbershop where numerous other pieces of evidence were found including the real estate deal between the two men and clothing investigators believe contain forensic evidence.
“Troopers also gained statements indicating that Mr. Pennington was previously in possession of a Disney ‘Frozen’ blanket as well as a firearm consistent with the caliber used in the homicide,” Aubele said.
In an interview with investigators Wednesday, Pennington allegedly confessed to shooting Dicenzo, but claimed it was out of self-defense. The complaint did not indicate whether Pennington told police what allegedly led him to defend himself. He told police he threw the gun into Dunlap Creek.
Aubele said Pennington has a significant criminal history including burglary and false statements to the police. He was also accused of killing his brother in the late 1980’s, though he was acquitted of that crime.
Aubele added that most of Pennington’s criminal activity was in the 1980’s, though in 2019, he was a police informant. Police charged a woman after Pennington told them she asked him to help her find a hitman to kill her husband, offering Pennington half of her husband’s $50,000 life insurance policy.
Pennington was arraigned Wednesday morning before District Judge Nathan Henning, who sent him to the Fayette County jail without bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. April 29.